Reviews for Return to Cosmology: Postmodern Science and the Theology of Nature

The average rating for Return to Cosmology: Postmodern Science and the Theology of Nature based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-06-17 00:00:00 Kanjanapol Kathong Toulmin asks whether religion-philosophy and science can be brought together on the question regarding the nature and meaning of life. This book is a collection of Toulmin’s writings on this topic. He spends most of his effort on critiquing the failure of various writers on evolutionary theory to bridge that gap and he argues that the particular writers he looks at (e.g., Koestler, Teilhard de Chardin, Monod, Jacob, Sagan, Bateson) have created their own mythology. Hence, the title of this book, the title of Part One of this collection (“Scientific Mythology”) and “The Limits of Cosmology” essay in that collection. In Part Three, Toulmin moves toward the possibility that there can be a reunification “between natural science and natural religion.” The reference to natural “religion” is odd as a science-based cosmology need not be termed a “religion” at all. Yet, Toulmin nevertheless asks, “Just how far along the road to a theology of nature can scientific disciplines like ecology take us?” Again, there’s the expression “theology of nature”. Why taint evolutionary theory and scientific ecology with theology? Or, why does ecology need to be reconciled with theology? Toulmin persists. He holds the two together and calls for “scientists, theologians, and philosophers…to sit down together and follow their joint discussion where it leads.” This tame recommendation about how to move forward might very well be the logical result of a Wittgenstein-trained philosopher who is adverse to the possibility of a global worldview. In one of Toulmin’s essays on Jacques Monod and his “Chance and Necessity” (1971), Toulmin states that Monod is good at his science, but “out of his depth” on philosophy when he, Monod, attempts to tie his science into a new biologically-based “natural philosophy.” Monod’s book is, in Toulmin’s point of view, “a debacle” for it comes across in “a tone of bland arrogance that only serves to expose Monod’s ignorance both of the history of philosophy and of the character of philosophical issues themselves.” That characterization is over the top. Monod reasonably speculates on the philosophical implications of his scientific work. In calling for a new ethic of objective knowledge, whose only value is objective knowledge itself, Monod puts philosophy and religion under an “animist” category. In making his argument, Monod is modest in his language. He recognizes that his perspective likely differs from others and he invites criticism and debate. While there’s plenty to disagree with, it is a vast stretch to call (name call) Monod a nature theologian. And, in his various references to amateurs with no formal training engaging in his field of philosophy, Toulmin comes across as one who is too prone to pull rank.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-03-23 00:00:00 Michael J. Willman 3.5 Stars overall Includes 9 short stories and as such some are amazing but others not as much. The audiobook is a bit weird since there are no titles or intro to each story. You're just shocked by the sudden change of narrator or tone. Sentinel - Arthur C. Clarke. = 2/5 The truth is out there... on the moon. Forgettable and lame, the aliens are so advance and amazing and man is small and insignificant. Just like every retro sci-fi out there. Fat Farm - Orson Scott Card. = 5/5 Layers and layers of technological advancement, the human psyche and how everything has a price. While most Sci-fi use cloning and body switching as a way to give the MC perfection this story deals with the broken, useless lump left behind when the clone walks away. For this person is still there, he still has his memories and the clone is but a perfectly sculpted copy. This one alone made the audiobook worth while for me. Our Lady of the Sauropods - Robert Silverberg. = 3.5/5 Jurassic park has opened it's doors and the inhabitants are here to stay. It started off on shaky grounds but ended up as a fun and weird way to look at things from the dinos point of view. Options - John Varley. = 1/5 Gender switching is just a fact of life and is only one procedure away. Has a very grounded message and currently relevant. The differences between the genders (i.e. none they both have problems) however the execution was muddled and attempted to fit different elements into this narrow space instead of focusing on the main one. Why I left Harry's All night diner - Lawrence Watt-evans. = 2/5 The swallow travels south for the winter each year and comes back with stories of the wide world and all it's wonders. The hen travels south to the edge end of the streets and thinks my how far I have gone and much I have seen. Though the moral of this tale attempts to see things from a different perspective of (hey at least the hen got to travel, why don't you?) I can't help but be reminded of the difference between the Hen and the swallow in it. The Poplar Street Study - Karen Joy Fowler. = 4/5 What if you and your entire neighborhood were the lab rat? Very interesting take on the matter and well written, lost a point due to the abrupt ending. Feedback - Joe Haldeman. = 2.5/5 If you could link minds with someone so as to use his experiences for something how much of the end result is you and how much is them. Interesting perspective but the narrative was too technical and the outcome predictable. Permafrost - Roger Zelazny = 5/5 Hate is only love with it's back turned. Also you might not want to go back to your ex with nothing but lame excuses if you've done something irredeemable. Skin Deep - Kristine Kathryn Rusch = 5/5 Perfection. About how we sometimes see people as people only if they have the right skin on. Those that different are automatically persecuted... even if they are the ones that truly belong not us. Easily the best in the collection. Summery Interesting collection to pass the time for a Sci-fi fan. What you like and dislike will vary according to your own personal tastes but in the end everyone will come out of it with something. Looking at the other reviews I feel I should explain my love for the story (Fat Farm) and my low opinion of the story (Why I Left Harry's All Night Diner). I won't. Everyone has the right to form his or her own opinion regardless of the name attached to the work. It's also fine to like what you like even if it's not popular. Just have fun with the book.