Dissertation Abstract
Religious Beliefs And
Peirce's Scientific Realism
by
Robert Donald Reuter
Degree: PH.D.
Year: 1997
Pages: 00221
Institution:
Advisor: William L. Rowe
Source: DAI, 58, no. 09A, (1997): 3567
The nature of the interaction between science and
theology has most often been considered by scientists and philosophers to be
either one of conflict or simply non-existent (since science and theology
allegedly deal with completely different subject matter). This dissertation is
an attempt to establish that both of these positions are untenable, and to show
that science, traditional theology, and metaphysics can interact in a mutually
supportive way. I use the philosophy of science and "scholastic"
realism of Charles Sanders Peirce as a model to defend the view that mutually
supportive interaction is possible if (1) some religious propositions, such as
"God exists," are treated as viable hypotheses, and (2) we are willing
to expand our notions of acceptable evidence for confirming these religious
propositions. I conclude that, although Peirce provides a good start at a
theory of how science and theology can interact positively, he has difficult in
establishing necessary and sufficient conditions for testing the hypothesis
that God is real. I suggest, however, that Peirce's version of pragmatism
(which he insists is a logical extension of Matthew 7:16) provides a clue as to
a way to strengthen the Peircean model and establish the mutual support between
metaphysics, science, and a traditional theology.
SUBJECT(S)
Descriptor: PHILOSOPHY
RELIGION,
PHILOSOPHY OF
THEOLOGY
Accession
No: AAG9808510
Provider: OCLC
Database: Dissertations