Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- 18 Romanticism
- 19 John Stuart Mill on Religion, Utility, and Morality
- 20 The Physical Sciences
- 21 Charles Darwin and the Darwinians
- 22 Freud and the Unconscious
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
20 - The Physical Sciences
from Part IV - Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 September 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- 18 Romanticism
- 19 John Stuart Mill on Religion, Utility, and Morality
- 20 The Physical Sciences
- 21 Charles Darwin and the Darwinians
- 22 Freud and the Unconscious
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
‘Scientist equals atheist’ seems a truism of popular psychology. The average person on the street appears to expect this equation to be true; scientists, people seem to think, are by necessity atheists. If not, it is cause for astonishment and mostly explained away as an exception to the rule. Conservative religious people see a direct causal relationship, fearing that science leads to atheism; fundamentalists ‘know’ this to be the case, and proponents of the so-called New Atheism agree most fervently (Young 2009).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 366 - 387Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Bibliography
Bacon, F. 1625. Of Atheism. Available at: www.authorama.com/essays-of-francis-bacon-17.html (accessed 8 April 2019).Google Scholar
Bauer, T. 2018. Die Vereindeutigung der Welt. Über den Verlust an Mehrdeutigkeit und Vielfalt, 6th edition. Ditzingen: Reclam.Google Scholar
Brooke, J. H. 1991. Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, C. G. 2013. ‘The twentieth century’, in Bullivant, S. and Ruse, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 229–44.Google Scholar
Buckland, W. 1836. Geology and Mineralogy Considered with Reference to Natural Theology. London: William Pickering.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullivant, S. and Ruse, M. 2013. ‘The study of atheism’, in Bullivant, S. and Ruse, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daiches, D., Jones, P., and Jones, J. (eds.) 1986. A Hotbed of Genius: The Scottish Enlightenment 1730–1790. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Dean, D. R. 1992. James Hutton and the History of Geology. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edis, T. 2013. ‘Atheism and the rise of science’, in Bullivant, S. and Ruse, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 398–413.Google Scholar
Efron, N. J. 2009. ‘Myth 9 that Christianity gave birth to modern science’, in Numbers, R. L. (ed.) Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 79–89.Google Scholar
Gillispie, C. C. 1959. Genesis and Geology: A Study in the Relations of Scientific Thought, Natural Theology, and Social Opinion in Great Britain, 1790–1850, 2nd edition. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Hutton, J. 1788. ‘Theory of the Earth; or an investigation of the laws observable in the composition, dissolution, and restoration of land upon the Globe’. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1, 209–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kölbl-Ebert, M. 2004. ‘James Hutton’, in Hoffmann, D., Laitko, H., and Müller-Wille, St (eds.) Lexikon der bedeutenden Naturwissenschaftler, vol. 2 Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 253–7.Google Scholar
Kölbl-Ebert, M. 2009a. ‘George Bellas Greenough’s ‘Theory of the Earth’ and its impact on the early Geological Society’, in Lewis, C. L. E. and Knell, S. J. (eds.) The Making of the Geological Society of London. London: Geological Society of London, 115–28.Google Scholar
Kölbl-Ebert, M. 2009b. Evolution und Schöpfung: Interdisziplinärer Dialog in der musealen Praxis. Archaeopteryx 27, 55–80.Google Scholar
Kölbl-Ebert, M. 2013. Die Evolutionstheorie im naturwissenschaftlich/theologischen Diskurs. ContaCOr 15(1), 21–35.Google Scholar
Kölbl-Ebert, M. 2019. Geosciences in a Religious Setting? Thoughts on History of the Geosciences, Interdisciplinary Dialogue and Geoethics. International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences Annual Record 51: 67–70.Google Scholar
LeDrew, S. 2016. The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Modern Movement. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyell, C. 1830. Principles of Geology, being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth’s Surface by Reference to Causes Now in Operation, vol. 1, London: John Murray.Google Scholar
Mura, G. 2005. ‘Atheism’, in G. Tanzella-Nitti and A. Strumia (eds.) Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science. Available at: http://inters.org/atheism (accessed 11 January 2018).Google Scholar
Naab, E. 2018. Das Jura-Museum und die Aufgaben der Kirche. Überlegungen eines Theologen. Archaeopteryx 35, 54–7.Google Scholar
Nash, D. 2013. ‘The (long) nineteenth century’, in Bullivant, S. and Ruse, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 212–28.Google Scholar
Roberts, M. B. 2009. ‘Adam Sedgwick (1785–1873): geologist and evangelical’, in Kölbl- Ebert, M. (ed.) Geology and Religion: A History of Harmony and Hostility. London: Geological Society of London, Special Publications 310: 155–70.Google Scholar
Rudwick, M. J. S. 2014. Earth’s Deep History. How It Was Discovered and Why It Matters. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rupke, N. A. 1983. The Great Chain of History: William Buckland and the English School of Geology (1814–1849). Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Shehan, J. 2005. The Enlightenment Bible: Translation, Scholarship, Culture. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Stanley, M. 2009. ‘Myth 21 that Einstein believed in a personal God’, in R. L. Numbers, (ed.) Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 187–95.Google Scholar
Whewell, W. 1834. Astronomy and General Physics Considered with Reference to Natural Theology. London: William Pickering.Google Scholar
Young, M. 2009. ‘Does science lead to atheism.’ Available at: https://pandasthumb.org/archives/2009/07/post-29.html (accessed 9 April 2019).Google Scholar
Further Reading
Brooke, J. H. 1991. Science and Religion. Some Historical Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A thorough historical treatment of the relationship between science and religion.Google Scholar
Edis, T. 2013. ‘Atheism and the rise of science’, in Bullivant, S. and Ruse, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 398–413. A brief but balanced and useful overview; good to get oneself started.Google Scholar
Gillispie, Ch. C. 1959. Genesis and Geology, A Study in the Relations of Scientific Thought, Natural Theology, and Social Opinion in Great Britain, 1790–1850, 2nd edition. New York:Harper & Row. Still a good, balanced and useful introduction into the topic of geology and religion.Google Scholar
Hyman, G. 2010. A Short History of Atheism. London: I. B. Tauris. A fascinating history of theology as it pertains to atheism.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kölbl-Ebert, M. 2009. Geology and Religion: A History of Harmony and Hostility. London: Geological Society of London. A series of conference papers on the history of geology and religion, including two papers by theologians.Google Scholar
LeDrew, S. 2016. The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Modern Movement. New York: Oxford University Press. An interesting and readable introduction into political and scientific atheism.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rupke, N. A. 1983. The Great Chain of History: William Buckland and the English School of Geology (1814–1849). Oxford: Clarendon Press. A history of the establishment of geology in Oxford, including ample references to its religious context.Google Scholar