On March 19th, RRC was pleased to have the opportunity to join with the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia to host Professor Keith Ward of the University of Oxford who was visiting Philadelphia as the Metanexus Senior Fellow.
Professor Ward took on the claims of Richard Dawkins, E.O. Wilson, Daniel Dennett and other scientists and philosophers who have been promoting a kind of evangelical atheism, based on what Ward considers a “faith commitment” to reductive physicalism.
Ward argued that science can study what things in the world are made of and how they work, but that when they go on to make metaphysical claims(what is most real), they are outside their area of competence. “One cannot answer metaphysical questions scientifically.”
He suggested that there are things that, in principle, science will never be able to observe. For example, neuroscience–according to Ward–will never be able to look into a brain and tell exactly what a person is thinking. Suppose the person is having a new thought that no one ever had before.
Ward distinguishd between the pursuit of science where everyone should be able to agree with the analysis of data regardless of where they are standing. In the arts and in religion however, perspective makes a difference. He suggested that religion needs to take a stand in defense of the humanities, the right to value as ultimate goods in human life that which can not be proved, nor can it be universalized.
At a dinner earlier in the evening, Ward joined several RRC students as well as a few LTSP folks for a lively discussion about the topic and, inevitably, related and not so related issues. We were honored to be part of this visit, and look forward to next year when the Metanexus Senior Fellow will be Phil Clayton from Claremont School of Theology.
interesting take on the subject, count me as a new subscriber!