Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674033272 ISBN 13: 9780674033276

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2009

Synopsis

If we want nonscientists and opinion-makers in the press, the lab, and the pulpit to take a fresh look at the relationship between science and religion, Ronald Numbers suggests that we must first dispense with the hoary myths that have masqueraded too long as historical truths.

Until about the 1970s, the dominant narrative in the history of science had long been that of science triumphant, and science at war with religion. But a new generation of historians both of science and of the church began to examine episodes in the history of science and religion through the values and knowledge of the actors themselves. Now Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to ­puncture the myths, from Galileo’s incarceration to Darwin’s deathbed conversion to Einstein’s belief in a personal God who “didn’t play dice with the universe.” The picture of science and religion at each other’s throats persists in mainstream media and scholarly journals, but each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths.

About this title

About the Author

Ronald L. Numbers was Hilldale Professor Emeritus of the History of Science and Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

From the Back Cover

Myth 2. That the Medieval Christian Church Suppressed the Growth of Science Myth 3. That Medieval Christians Taught That the Earth Was Flat Myth 4. That Medieval Islamic Culture Was Inhospitable to Science Myth 12. That René Descartes Originated the Mind- Body Distinction Myth 16. That Evolution Destroyed Darwin's Faith in Christianity Until He Reconverted on His Deathbed Myth 21. That Einstein Believed in a Personal GodMyth 25. That Modern Science Has Secularized Western Culture

Reviews

Defining myth as just “a claim that is false,” editor Numbers and 24 other scholars debunk 25 falsehoods about science and religion. The most familiar—that the church imprisoned and tortured Galileo, that medieval Islam was hostile to science, that medieval Christians thought the earth was flat, that the church fought against anesthesia—have long been discredited, yet the briefs on them so admirably distill their history that Wikipedia should swipe them. Others—that the church suppressed science, prohibited dissection, and martyred Giordano Bruno for his scientific work—still have their propagandists. Some remain quite lively, such as that Christianity birthed modern science (see Rodney Stark’s For the Glory of God, 2003), that intelligent design challenges evolution scientifically, and that creationism is a strictly American phenomenon. Many are known primarily, perhaps, to specialists, and one or two may startle those who thought themselves in the know about such figures as Descartes and Newton. The pieces on all 25 have been written and edited for accessibility, making the book excellent for ready reference as well as recreational reading. --Ray Olson

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674033272
• ISBN 13: 9780674033276
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Numbers Ronald L.