The Justification of Science and the Rationality of Religious Belief (Oxford Philosophical Monographs) [1 ed.] 0198248210, 9780198248217

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OXFORD PHILOSOPHICAL MONOGRAPHS

The Justification of Science and the Rationality of Religious Belief

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The

Justification of Science and the

Rationality of Religious Belief Michael C. Banner. "I

CLARENDON PRESS • OXFORD 1990

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Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford oxz 6dp Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Jay a Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press Published in the United States by Oxford University Press, New York © Michael C. Banner 1990 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Banner, Michael C. The justification of science and the rationality of religious belief. 1. Religious beliefs. Rationality 2. Science. Theories I. Title 200'.1 ISBN 0-19-824821-0 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Banner, Michael C. The justification of science and the rationality of religious belief! Michael C. Banner, p. cm.—(Oxford philosophical monographs) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Religion—Philosophy. 2. Science—Philosophy. 1. Title. 11. Series. BL51.B238 1990 I21'.7—dc20 89-22852 ISBN 0-19-824821-0 Typeset by Pentacor Ltd, High Wycombe, Bucks Printed in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford & Kings Lynn

To my parents in love and gratitude


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Acknowledgements title of this book records significant debts in blending the titles of two others—Basil Mitchell’s Justification of Religious Belief and W. H. Newton-Smith’s Rationality of Science. It was my good fortune to have Professor Mitchell’s critical and conscientious guidance whilst I wrote my doctoral thesis and I acknowldege with gratitude all that I owe to him. Bill Newton-Smith was one of my tutors whilst I was an undergraduate at Balliol and was liberal then and in subsequent years in his willingness to discuss the philosophy of science with me. I hope that another tutor at Balliol, Dr P. B. Hinchliff, will not think that his kindness receives a poor return in this work. Both Dr A. J. P. Kenny and Professor R. Swinburne generously read and commented upon sections of this work in its early drafts. Audiences at the Universities of Durham and Birmingham, at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, and at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley heard some of the ideas and were helpfully sceptical. I was also fortunate in having an opportunity to meet and debate with a number of philosophers in Czechoslovakia. This book was all but finished whilst I enjoyed the hospitality of St Peter’s College, Oxford where I held the Bampton Research Fellowship. I record my gratitude to the Electors to the Bampton Fellowship, and in particular to Professor Ernest Nicholson and the Revd W. L. R. Watson, for the encouragement given in electing me and subsequently. To Jane Wheare, who has shared this and so much else, more than thanks are due. The

M.B. Peterhouse, Cambridge April 1989

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