After Atheism Science, Religion and the Meaning of Life
If science has replaced God, is life necessarily meaningless? This book argues that the advances of science and the retreat of religion in secular society does not have to mean a life without spirituality.
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Also by Mark Vernon BUSINESS: The Key Concepts THE PHILOSOPHY OF FRIENDSHIP WHAT NOT TO SAY: Finding the Right Words at Difficult Moments 42: Deep Thought on Life
AFTER ATHEISM SCIENCE, RELIGION AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
Mark Vernon
© Mark Vernon 2007 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Transferred to Digital Printing in 2014
For Nicholas George
contents
List of Illustrations
ix
Acknowledgements
xi
INTRODUCTION
1
1 SOCRATES’ QUEST: THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM
13
2 COSMOLOGISTS AND DARWINISTS: THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE
39
3 VISIONS OF REALITY: SCIENCE AND WONDER
57
4 BAD FAITH: RELIGION AS CERTAINTY
85
5 CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICISM: LEARNED IGNORANCE
111
6 FOLLOWING SOCRATES: A WAY OF LIFE
139
7 HOW TO BE AN AGNOSTIC: AN APHORISTIC A–Z
165
Further Reading and References
189
Index
195
List of Illustrations
I.1: Durham Cathedral has stood for over 900 years, ‘half church of God, half castle ’gainst the Scot’, as Sir Walter Scott put it. I.2: T. H. Huxley coined the word agnosticism saying that he was against ‘gnosis’ – doctrinaire knowing. 1.1: The ruins of Delphi, high on the slopes of the ‘Shining Cliffs’. 1.2: Socrates’ ugly appearance accentuated the inner beauty of his unsettling wisdom. 2.1: Sir Isaac Newton – gentleman, sage, rationalist or alchemist? 2.2: Cosmologists have always been humbled by the vastness of the things that they study. 3.1: The Parthenon has made the wonder of technology manifest for 2500 years. 3.2: The ‘burnished and res
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