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The Territories of Human Reason is the first major study to explore the emergence of multiple situated rationalities. It focuses on the relation of the natural sciences and Christian theology, but its approach can easily be extended to other disciplines.
List of contents
- Introduction: Science and Theology in an Age of 'Multiple Situated Rationalities'
- Mapping the Territories of Human Reason
- Mapping the Territories of Science and Religion
- The Aim of this Book
- Part 1: Exploring the notion of Rationality
- 1: One Reason; Multiple Rationalities: The New Context of Discussion
- Shifting Notions of Rationality
- Rationality, Embodiment, and Embeddedness
- Reflections on the Cultural and Social Embeddedness of Rationality
- The Embodiment of Right Reason: The 'Wise'
- Concerns about Human Rationality
- One Reason; Multiple Rationalities
- Rationality, Ideology, and Power
- 2: Mapping Human Reason: Rationalities across Disciplinary Boundaries
- On the Correlation of Rationalities
- Scientism: The Natural Sciences as the Ultimate Rational Authority
- Multiple Perspectives on a Complex Reality
- Science and Theology: Distinct Perspectives on Reality
- Science and Theology: Distinct Levels of Reality
- 3: Social Aspects of Rationality: Tradition and Epistemic Communities
- Communities and their Epistemic Systems
- Rationality, Community, and Tradition
- Rationality and Dominant Cultural Metanarratives
- Science and Religion: Reflections on the Communal Aspects of Knowledge
- Part II: Rationality in Science and Theology
- 4: Rational Virtues and the Problem of Theory Choice
- What is a theory?
- Inference to the Best Explanation
- Correspondence and Coherence as Theoretical Virtues
- Objectivity
- Simplicity
- Elegance and Beauty
- A Capacity to Predict
- 5: Rational Explanation in Science and Religion
- What Does it Mean to 'Explain'?
- Causality as Explanation
- Unification as Explanation
- Two Approaches to Explanation: Ontic and Epistemic
- Religious Explanation: Some General Reflections
- Religious Explanation: Ontic and Epistemic
- Theology, Ontology, and Explanation
- A Case Study: Aquinas's 'Second Way'
- The Image of God and Religious Explanation
- Understanding and Explaining: A Religious Perspective
- 6: From Observation to Theory: Deduction, Induction, and Abduction
- The Entanglement of Theory and Observation
- Logics of Discovery and Justification
- Deduction in the Natural Sciences
- Deduction in Christian Theology
- Induction in the Natural Sciences
- Induction in Christian Theology
- Abduction in the Natural Sciences
- Abduction in Christian Theology
- 7: Complexity and Mystery: The Limits of Rationality
- Mystery and Irrationality
- Mystery in Science
- Mystery in Christian Theology
- The Trinity as Mystery
- Mystery: An Invitation to Deeper Reflection
- 8: Rational Consilience: Some Closing Reflections on Science and Christian Theology
- Towards a 'Big Picture': A Metaphysical Turn
- The Colligation of Insights
- A Case Study in Colligation: Science and Socialism
- A Case Study in Colligation: Science and Theology
- Rationality: A Cohesive Approach
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
About the author
Alister E. McGrath is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. After his doctoral research on molecular biophysics, he studied Christian theology, with a particular interest in developing understandings of the possible relationships between the natural sciences and theology. McGrath has published extensively in the field of science and religion, and been a significant voice in recent debates with writers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens over the rationality of religious faith, and its relation to a scientific culture. His publications include The Great Mystery: Science, God and the Human Quest for Meaning (2017), Inventing the Universe: Why We Can't Stop Talking about Science, Faith and God (2016), and Science and Religion: A New Introduction (2010).
Summary
The Territories of Human Reason is the first major study to explore the emergence of multiple situated rationalities. It focuses on the relation of the natural sciences and Christian theology, but its approach can easily be extended to other disciplines.
