Science and religion—two crucial forces that helped shape Western civilization and continue to interact in our daily lives. What is the nature of their relationship? When do they conflict? And how do they influence each other in their pursuits of knowledge and truth? Science and Religion, taught by award-winning Professor Lawrence M. Principe, answers these and other pointed questions about the historical sweep and epic interaction between faith and science. These lectures reveal a surprisingly cooperative dynamic in which theologians and natural scientists share methods, ideas, and aspirations. With its clear, historical perspective, this course will help you participate more effectively in a dialogue that is as immediate and thought-provoking today as it was hundreds of years ago.
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Blending history with science, this series cuts across scientific disciplines to show you the spirit of excitement and exploration that accompanied the development of science from the Enlightenment through the 19th century. Great thinkers considered issues ranging from weightless matter to the existence of an unsuspected prehistoric world—while contending with demanding pressures from state, church, and culture.
In this course you will explore ideas that-when society has been willing to pursue them-have helped form the foundation of modern life. You'll discover there is no sharp distinction between ideas that are classified as scientific and those that are classified as philosophical or mathematical, or even between scientific ideas and political, religious, or aesthetic ideas. In each lecture, you also will examine the content of a single idea that is fundamental for science, how that idea arose, and what its impact has been throughout the centuries.
View scientific knowledge through the lens of fiction in and explore theories, concepts, and formulas that may seem daunting in more academic settings. How Science Shapes Science Fiction showcases the ways fiction has an amazing capacity to teach us about ourselves and the nature of the world we live in.
Charles Darwin's theories on natural selection rank with those of Copernicus and Newton for their iconic stature in science. In The Darwinian Revolution, explore the remarkable story of Darwin's ideas, how scientists and religious leaders reacted to them, and the resulting sea change in human thought. In these 24 absorbing lectures taught by award-winning Professor Frederick Gregory, learn how a strikingly original scientific concept can break the boundaries of its discipline and influence society at large—in religion, politics, philosophy, and other spheres. By the conclusion, you'll realize the truly astounding implications of this provocative theory on all aspects of human life.
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