Science, Religion and Epistemic Insight: a Humanist View Richard Norman

Overview Distinctions between different forms of knowledge – impersonal and personal perspectives ‘Big Questions’ The complex relations between science, religion, and the personal perspective – and between different versions of religious understanding

Epistemic Insight “Epistemic Insight means ‘knowledge about knowledge’ – and, particularly, knowledge about disciplines and how they interact.”

A fundamental contrast Two basic perspectives: the personal perspective and the impersonal perspective Thomas Nagel, The View from Nowhere: ‘the perspective of a particular person inside the world’/’an objective view of that same world’ – ‘internal and external standpoints’ – ‘subjective and objective views’

Being in love: impersonal and personal perspectives When we are falling in love, chemicals associated with the reward circuit flood our brain, producing a variety of physical and emotional responses—racing hearts, sweaty palms, flushed cheeks, feelings of passion and anxiety. Levels of the stress hormone cortisol increase during the initial phase of romantic love, marshaling our bodies to cope with the “crisis” at hand. As cortisol levels rise, levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin become depleted. Low levels of serotonin precipitate what Schwartz described as the “intrusive, maddeningly preoccupying thoughts, hopes, terrors of early love”—the obsessive-compulsive behaviors associated with infatuation. Being love-struck also releases high levels of dopamine, a chemical that “gets the reward system going,” said Olds. Dopamine activates the reward circuit, helping to make love a pleasurable experience similar to the euphoria associated with use of cocaine or alcohol.

Sciences and Humanities Natural sciences – the detached impersonal perspective Literature – coming to know what it is like for others – coming to know ourselves, making sense of our own lives Visual arts – coming to understand different ways of seeing the world Music – identifying and understanding our emotions

Constable: The Haywain (1821)

Turner: Rain, Steam and Speed (1844)

Monet – ‘Poppies’ (1873)

Van Gogh: Wheatfield with Cypresses (1889)

Other forms of knowledge History: understanding the motivations of historical agents by putting oneself in their position + establishing what actually happened, examining sources Human sciences Moral knowledge: grounded in our own capacity for empathy + putting oneself in other people’s position + knowing the consequences

Paul Gauguin – Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

Stephen Jay Gould: NOMA “The net, or magisterium, of science covers the empirical realm: what is the universe made of (fact) and why does it work this way (theory). The magisterium of religion extends over questions of ultimate meaning and moral value. The two magisteria do not overlap, nor do they encompass all inquiry... To cite the old clichés, science gets the age of rocks, and religion the rock of ages; science studies how the heavens go, religion how to go to heaven.”

Richard Dawkins “...If science cannot answer some ultimate question, what makes anybody think that religion can?... The God Hypothesis suggests that the reality we inhabit also contains a supernatural agent who designed the universe and – at least in many versions of the hypothesis – ...intervenes in it with miracles... The presence or absence of a creative super-intelligence is unequivocally a scientific question... So also is the truth or falsity of every one of the miracle stories that religions rely upon to impress multitudes of the faithful.”

Where do we come from? Scientific answers are about causal origins – the evolution of species by natural selection, the chemical composition of living things, the ‘big bang’ etc. The personal perspective: does this make us insignificant? Does it make us aware of our place in nature and our close relationship to other living things? Can it inspire us?

Where do we come from? Darwin: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” Richard Dawkins: “The feeling of awed wonder that science can give us is one of the highest experiences of which the human psyche is capable.”

Where do we come from? Religious traditions: tend to run together questions of personal significance with factual claims and hypotheses. These may conflict with scientific knowledge, e.g. traditional argument from design. “Why are we here?”: raises questions about relation between causal explanations and purposive explanations – not necessarily incompatible, but philosophically problematic – need for epistemic insight.

What are we? Scientific answers: our biological nature, genetic determinants, physiological structure Personal perspective: we are self-aware conscious beings, we seek to make sense of our lives, we are responsible for our actions and our decisions, we are moral beings Some religious traditions: we are not just physical beings, we possess an immortal soul or spirit. Complex relation between these claims and scientific understanding – philosophical questions again

Where are we going? Scientific account: dependence of conscious experiences on functioning central nervous system Personal perspective: does our mortality rob life of its meaning? Does it motivate us to make the most of our lives? What is our relation to future generations? Some religious traditions: claims about personal survival, rebirth etc. – are they factual claims? – difficult to reconcile with scientific understanding. Need for epistemic insight.

Conclusions Epistemic insight vital Involves difficult philosophical questions Involves understanding relationships between different forms of knowledge, including scientific, religious, and personal perspectives Also involves understanding of different kinds of knowledge claims within religious traditions – unpacking the ambiguities