Before Science and Religion: Learning from Medieval Physics

Science and religion.

1 Science and Religion

Certainly no one in 1879 in Ulm, Germany, could have guessed that one of their own born that year would someday receive global praise for his undisputed genius, meriting recently the coveted title “person of the century” (Time magazine). Likewise, international fame was probably not what Albert Einstein himself anticipated in 1895 when he failed the entrance exam for the Federal Polytechnical I...

Religion, science and markets.

in 2001, a food scandal raged through­ out indonesia. the indonesian ulemas council (Mui; Jakarta, indonesia) accused a Japanese company of using pork products in the production of the flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSg), and demanded that the indonesian govern­ ment take appropriate action. it was a serious accusation: if true, the company would have violated halal rules, which forbid ...

Science and Religion.

Magic, Science and Religion

Malinowski's classic attempt to separate magic, science, and religion has not worn well. For some purposes, we now can find it very useful indeed, at least insofar as it separates pragmatic knowledge from unverifiable belief. However, as Malinowski admitted, traditional societies often categorize knowledge is ways very different from this. Knowledge of and ethics relating to the nonhuman enviro...