Science and Religion: A Conflict of Methods
Smith, Timothy Alexander

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Smith, T. A. (2017). Science and Religion: A Conflict of Methods (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/7668
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http://hdl.handle.net/10523/7668
Abstract:
There is an epistemological conflict between religion and science. While the claims of science are justified using epistemic methods whose reliability has been corroborated by other people and by other methods, the claims of religion are not justified in the same way. Different methods are used. This thesis offers both a comprehensive description of the distinctive epistemic methods of religion and a philosophical appraisal of the claim that such methods are knowledge-conferring. The methods explored are various and care has been taken to sample a broad range of religious cultures. It is found that the same religious methods, when used to answer the same questions, generate different answers for different practitioners. Additionally, the results of religious methods fail to agree with the results of other epistemic methods when employed independently. This lack of independent agreement is the primary reason for the exclusion of religious methods from science. It is further argued that (a) this lack of agreement is evidence that religious methods are unreliable, and (b) the agreement generated by scientific methods is evidence for their reliability.
Date:
2017
Advisor:
Dawes, Gregory; Maclaurin, James
Degree Name:
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Discipline:
Philosophy
Publisher:
University of Otago
Keywords:
science and religion; Philosophy of religion; methodological naturalism; faith; Creationism; mysticism; scientific realism; supernatural claims; religious disagreement; religious diversity; study of religion
Research Type:
Thesis
Languages:
English
Collections
- Philosophy [52]
- Thesis - Doctoral [3089]