A Modern Synthesis of Science with Eastern Christianity Essay -- Philo

Introduction Since the dawn of consciousness, humans have strived to understand the world around them and their place in it. From the first naturalistic surveys of the flora and fauna of the earth painted on the rocky walls of fire-lit caves millennia ago to the enormously complex investigations into quantum physics ventured at today’s particle accelerators, human curiosity has known no bounds. By way of organizing the countless questions posed and answers sought, broad conceptions of "science," "reason," "philosophy," and "religion" have been created and debated by humankind for centuries. Beginning in earnest during the Age of Reason following the Renaissance, two distinct ways of understanding the world seemed to form. On one hand, understanding could be realized by rational thought, reason, and the applications of science. On the other, understanding could be achieved by faith in some divine presence, the application of religion. A philosophical conflict quickly developed between the t wo camps: what should reign supreme in human understanding of the world—science or religion? The debate had no clear-cut answer, and only tautological methods of prioritizing one over the other. Various ways of relating science and religion have been proposed and adopted in the past century or two. As summarized by Ian Barbour in his Religion and Science, philosophers concerned with the interaction (or lack thereof) of science and religion have been left with four broad options: Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration. The divisions proceed from fundamental ideas about how science and religion, in very general terms, operate and work in the world. Conceptions separating science and religion philosophically, arguing that they serve... ...otheses, models, experience, intuition, hypotheses, models†¦) . That the priorities of science and religion, and the pathways that each entity uses to progress, are so similar, and yet the entities themselves so separate, leads quite nicely into the dialogue position. Any consideration (investigations into the character of some object or an answer to some question) can involve both types of inquiry: "Nothing excludes the co-existence of faith and science when faith is not imaginary and science does not falsify its positive character with the use of metaphysics." Though full and harmonious integration may not be possible, a very useful, satisfying, complete dialogue between the right religious tradition and most scientific philosophies may easily produce a harmonious, complementary, synthesis to grant a better understanding of humanity and its place in the world.