The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism

The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism PDF Author: Stephen P. Weldon
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421438585
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description
The story of how prominent liberal intellectuals reshaped American religious and secular institutions to promote a more democratic, science-centered society. Winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Award for Best Book by the Center for Inquiry Recent polls show that a quarter of Americans claim to have no religious affiliation, identifying instead as atheists, agnostics, or "nothing in particular." A century ago, a small group of American intellectuals who dubbed themselves humanists tread this same path, turning to science as a major source of spiritual sustenance. In The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism, Stephen P. Weldon tells the fascinating story of this group as it developed over the twentieth century, following the fortunes of a few generations of radical ministers, academic philosophers, and prominent scientists who sought to replace traditional religion with a modern, liberal, scientific outlook. Weldon explores humanism through the networks of friendships and institutional relationships that underlay it, from philosophers preaching in synagogues and ministers editing articles of Nobel laureates to magicians invoking the scientific method. Examining the development of an increasingly antagonistic engagement between religious conservatives and the secular culture of the academy, Weldon explains how this conflict has shaped the discussion of science and religion in American culture. He also uncovers a less known—but equally influential—story about the conflict within humanism itself between two very different visions of science: an aspirational, democratic outlook held by the followers of John Dewey on the one hand, and a skeptical, combative view influenced by logical positivism on the other. Putting America's distinctive science talk into historical perspective, Weldon shows how events such as the Pugwash movement for nuclear disarmament, the ongoing evolution controversies, the debunking of pseudo-science, and the selection of scientists and popularizers like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov as humanist figureheads all fit a distinctly American ethos. Weldon maintains that this secular ethos gained much of its influence by tapping into the idealism found in the American radical religious tradition that includes the deism of Thomas Paine, nineteenth-century rationalism and free thought, Protestant modernism, and most important, Unitarianism. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and a thorough study of the main humanist publications, The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism reveals a new level of detail about the personal and institutional forces that have shaped major trends in American secular culture. Significantly, the book shows why special attention to American liberal religiosity remains critical to a clear understanding of the scientific spirit in American culture.

The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism

The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism PDF Author: Stephen P. Weldon
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421438585
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description
The story of how prominent liberal intellectuals reshaped American religious and secular institutions to promote a more democratic, science-centered society. Winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Award for Best Book by the Center for Inquiry Recent polls show that a quarter of Americans claim to have no religious affiliation, identifying instead as atheists, agnostics, or "nothing in particular." A century ago, a small group of American intellectuals who dubbed themselves humanists tread this same path, turning to science as a major source of spiritual sustenance. In The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism, Stephen P. Weldon tells the fascinating story of this group as it developed over the twentieth century, following the fortunes of a few generations of radical ministers, academic philosophers, and prominent scientists who sought to replace traditional religion with a modern, liberal, scientific outlook. Weldon explores humanism through the networks of friendships and institutional relationships that underlay it, from philosophers preaching in synagogues and ministers editing articles of Nobel laureates to magicians invoking the scientific method. Examining the development of an increasingly antagonistic engagement between religious conservatives and the secular culture of the academy, Weldon explains how this conflict has shaped the discussion of science and religion in American culture. He also uncovers a less known—but equally influential—story about the conflict within humanism itself between two very different visions of science: an aspirational, democratic outlook held by the followers of John Dewey on the one hand, and a skeptical, combative view influenced by logical positivism on the other. Putting America's distinctive science talk into historical perspective, Weldon shows how events such as the Pugwash movement for nuclear disarmament, the ongoing evolution controversies, the debunking of pseudo-science, and the selection of scientists and popularizers like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov as humanist figureheads all fit a distinctly American ethos. Weldon maintains that this secular ethos gained much of its influence by tapping into the idealism found in the American radical religious tradition that includes the deism of Thomas Paine, nineteenth-century rationalism and free thought, Protestant modernism, and most important, Unitarianism. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and a thorough study of the main humanist publications, The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism reveals a new level of detail about the personal and institutional forces that have shaped major trends in American secular culture. Significantly, the book shows why special attention to American liberal religiosity remains critical to a clear understanding of the scientific spirit in American culture.

Greek Thought and the Origins of the Scientific Spirit

Greek Thought and the Origins of the Scientific Spirit PDF Author: Léon Robin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy, Ancient
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Science of Spirit Possession (2nd Edition)

The Science of Spirit Possession (2nd Edition) PDF Author: Terence Palmer
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443871036
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 375

Get Book Here

Book Description
Spirit possession, attachment, poltergeist activity and the negative impact of obsession, infestation and harassment on psychological health, together with the methods of dealing with it, are contemporary issues that demand serious scientific research and academic study. Essential reading for anyone who is presented with the problem of identifying and dealing with negative spirit influence, whether they are a health professional, a service user or a research scientist, this book presents a complementary approach that is built upon the theoretical concepts and experimental methods of Frederic Myers, together with modern research findings in quantum theory and neuro-imaging.

Spiritual Science

Spiritual Science PDF Author: Steve Taylor
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 1786781921
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 307

Get Book Here

Book Description
A mindfulness expert whose work has been hailed by Eckhart Tolle as “an important contribution to the shift in consciousness” offers a new vision of reality—one that is compatible with modern science and ancient spirituality. “With elegance and lucidity, Steve Taylor explains why spiritual science is the only hope for humanity.” —Deepak Chopra It is often assumed that there are two ways of interpreting the world: a rational scientific way, or an irrational religious way. Mindfulness expert, Steve Taylor, shows that there is a third possibility—a spiritual, or “panspiritist”, view of reality that transcends both conventional science and religion, recognizes spirit or consciousness as fundamental, and answers many of the riddles that neither can explain. Here, Taylor puts forward the evidence for a spiritual view of reality and examines the development and consequences of the materialist model. Drawing on the insights of philosophers, physicists, mystics, as well as spiritual traditions and indigenous cultures, he also systematically shows how a ‘panspiritist’ view can explain many puzzling aspects of science and the world such as: • human consciousness • altruism • near-death experiences • telepathy and pre-cognition • quantum physics • the placebo effect • neuroplasticity A compelling argument for a new vision of reality, Spiritual Science offers a bright vision of the world as sacred and interconnected, and of human life as meaningful and purposeful.

Spirit, Science, and Health

Spirit, Science, and Health PDF Author: Thomas G. Plante Ph.D.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0275995070
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 245

Get Book Here

Book Description
From meditation to reciting mantras or praying, spirituality is more and more often being recognized for its beneficial effects on health. In this volume, a team of experts from across disciplines including psychology, medicine, nursing, public health, and pastoral care offer reader-friendly chapters showing the state of the art in understanding this connection. Chapters include attention to special populations such as youth, HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and those in hospice care. Contributors, all members of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University, aim to use the scientific understanding of the spirituality/health connection to promote better health for the general public. From meditation to reciting mantras or praying, spirituality is more and more often being recognized for its beneficial effects on health. In this volume, a team of experts from across disciplines including psychology, medicine, nursing, public health, and pastoral care offer reader-friendly chapters showing the state of the art in understanding this connection. Chapters include attention to special populations such as youth, HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, and those in hospice care. Contributors, all members of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University, aim to use the scientific understanding of the spirituality/health connection to promote better health for the general public. One focus of this volume is to show easy ways to incorporate spiritual practices in an environment that is often multicultural, multi-religious, stressful, hurried, and secular.

Science and the Spirit

Science and the Spirit PDF Author: James K. A. Smith
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253004667
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Get Book Here

Book Description
What might be described as a Pentecostal worldview has become a powerful cultural phenomenon, but it is often at odds with modernity and globalization. Science and the Spirit confronts questions of spirituality in the face of contemporary science. The essays in this volume illustrate how Pentecostalism can usefully engage with technology and scientific discovery and consider what might be distinctive about a Pentecostal dialogue with the sciences. The authors conclude that Pentecostals, with their unique perspectives on spirituality, can contribute new insights for a productive interaction between theology and science.

Science and Spirit

Science and Spirit PDF Author: Charles F. Emmons
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781475942637
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description
Are you out of your body? At least part of you may be, if consciousness can extend beyond the brain in your skull. In Science and Spirit, authors Charles F. Emmons and Penelope Emmons explore some intriguing questions: What evidence is there for consciousness apart from the body, and what evidence is there for survival of consciousness after bodily death? Through ethnographic interviews with scientists, observations at conferences, and visits to research institutes, they investigate the existence and meaning of ESP, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, reincarnation, spirit mediumship, lucid dreaming, and ghost experiences. In this study, they share a variety of scientific frames for looking at these questions and happenings, and they disclose their own paranormal experiences. Science and Spirit uses a unique blend of strong academic and scientific theory and methodology and applies it to the examination of paranormal topics.

Founding a Science of the Spirit

Founding a Science of the Spirit PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 185584298X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Get Book Here

Book Description
Previously published as At the Gates of Spiritual Science, these lectures offer a fine introduction to the whole of Rudolf Steiner's teaching, as well as including valuable material which is not to be found elsewhere. With great clarity and precision, Steiner speaks of the fundamental nature of the human being in relation to the cosmos, the evolution of the Earth, the journey of the soul after death, reincarnation and karma, good and evil, the modern path of meditative training, as well as giving answers to individual questions.Throughout, Steiner's emphasis is on a scientific exposition of spiritual phenomena. As he says in the final lecture: "the highest knowledge of mundane things is thoroughly compatible with the highest knowledge of spiritual truths."

In The Spirit Of Science: Lectures By Sydney Brenner On Dna, Worms And Brains

In The Spirit Of Science: Lectures By Sydney Brenner On Dna, Worms And Brains PDF Author: Sydney Brenner
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9813271752
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 127

Get Book Here

Book Description
In October 2017, Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner (Physiology or Medicine, 2002) gave four lectures on the history of Molecular Biology, its impact on Neuroscience and the great scientific questions that lie ahead.Sydney Brenner has been at the centre of the development of molecular biology, being a key player in shaping the Laboratory for Molecular Biology in Cambridge into a cradle of research, where pioneering and seminal discoveries in the field for over half a century have resulted in more than half a dozen Nobel Prizes.His memory is a treasure trove of the history of the field with innumerable anecdotes on other leading scientists in the past 60 years. These lectures trace the history and recount some of those anecdotes. His interlocutor Terry Sejnowski is the Francis Crick professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Laboratory Head of its Computational Neurobiology Laboratory. Terry and Sydney are long-term collaborators and they share many stories and memories.The recorded lectures are the basis for this book. It aims to preserve the history of molecular biology and to also raise scientific questions that have resulted from the work of Sydney, Terry and others. It should be read by everybody who is interested in the generation, history and impact of great ideas as recounted by one of the legends of 20th century science.Published in collaboration with Institute Para Limes.

Einstein's God

Einstein's God PDF Author: Krista Tippett
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101195835
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book Here

Book Description
A New York Times bestseller "An exhilirating exploration of the meaning of it all." --Robert Wright, author of The Evolution of God Drawn from Krista Tippett's Peabody Award-winning public radio program, the conversations in this profoundly illuminating book reach for a place too rarely explored in our ongoing exchange of ideas--the nexus of science and spirituality. In fascinating interviews with such luminaries as Freeman Dyson, Janna Levin, Parker Palmer, and John Polkinghorne, Krista Tippett draws out the connections between the two realms, showing how even those most wedded to hard truths find spiritual enlightenment in the life of experiment and, in turn, raise questions that are richly, theologically evocative. Whether she is speaking with celebrated surgeon and author Sherwin Nuland about the biology of the human spirit or questioning Drawin biographer James Moore about his subject's religious beliefs, Tippett offers a rare look at the way our best minds grapple with the questions for which we all seek answers.