Science and Wonders: Conversations about Science and Belief - Softcover

Stannard, Russell

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9780571176946: Science and Wonders: Conversations about Science and Belief

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571176941 ISBN 13: 9780571176946

Publisher: Faber and Faber, 1996

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Faced with the immensity of space, do astronomers regard us humans as insignificant specks in the vast cosmos? Do evolutionary biologists consider themselves to be mere animals? Do neuroscientists anticipate that one day the dissection of the brain will explain away our minds? Do experts on Artificial Intelligence see themselves as nothing but a form of robot? In Science and Wonders Russell Stannard asks the ultimate questions of a host of leading scientists and theologians in Britain and America. He talks to the Archbishop of York in his Palace, to the psychiatrist Montague Barker on Freud's couch in Hampstead, to the biologist Steven Rose in his lab. How should we view ourselves in the light of modern science? Did the Big Bang mark the creation of the Universe, and if so does it imply or rule out a Creator? And how might human beings continue to evolve?

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About the Author:

Russell Stannard is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the Open University. He has travelled widely in Europe and the USA, researching high energy nuclear physics. He has received the Templeton UK project award and spent a year in America as a visiting fellow at the Center of Theological Theory, Princeton. He was awarded an OBE for services to physics and the popularisation of science. Married with four children of his own and three stepchildren, he vividly remembers the excitement of discovering Einstein's theories for the first time and he is dedicated to passing this inspiration on to new generations. The Time and Space of Uncle Albert was shortlisted for both the Science Award and the Whitbread Award, and his books have been translated into seventeen different languages.

Synopsis:

In conversations with British and American scientists and theologians such as the biologist Steven Rose, the psychiatrist Montague Barker, and the Archbishop of York, the author addresses questions about science and belief. The topics discussed include how we should view ourselves in the light of modern science, how scientists react to the vastness of the universe, whether the universe was created by the Big Bang and the idea of a creator is thereby ruled out, how mankind might continue to evolve, and what Einstein meant when to he said that "God does not play dice". The book ties in with a BBC Radio 4 series.

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