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When most people think about Catholicism and science, they will automatically think of one of the famous events in the history of science - the condemnation of Galileo by the Roman Catholic Church. But the interaction of Catholics with science has been - and is - far more complex and positive than that depicted in the legend of the Galileo affair. Understanding the natural world has always been a strength of Catholic thought and research - from the great theologians of the Middle Ages to the present day - and science has been a hallmark of Catholic education for centuries.Catholicism and Science, a volume in the Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion series, covers all aspects of the relationship of science and the Church: How Catholics interacted with the profound changes in the physical sciences (natural philosophy) and biological sciences (natural history) during the Scientific Revolution; how Catholic scientists reacted to the theory of evolution and their attempts to make evolution compatible with Catholic theology; and the implications of Roman Catholic doctrinal and moral teachings for neuroscientific research, and for investigation into genetics and cloning.The volume includes primary source documents, a glossary and timeline of important events, and an annotated bibliography of the most useful works for further research
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Catholicism and Science
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Catholicism and Science
PETER M. J. HESS AND PAUL L. ALLEN
Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion Richard Olson, Series Editor
Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut r London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hess, Peter M. J. Catholicism and science / Peter M. J. Hess and Paul L. Allen. p. cm. — (Greenwood guides to science and religion) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–313–33190–9 (alk. paper) 1. Religion and science—History. 2. Catholic Church—Doctrines—History. Paul L. II. Title. BX1795.S35H47 2008 261.5 5088282—dc22 2007039200 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. C 2008 by Peter M. J. Hess and Paul L. Allen Copyright
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007039200 ISBN: 978–0–313–33190–9 First published in 2008 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
I. Allen,
Contents
Series Foreword
ix xvii
Preface Acknowledgments
xix
Chronology of Events
xxi
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Introduction to Science in the Catholic Tradition
1
Introduction: “Catholicism” and “Science”
1
The Heritage of the Early Church
3
Natural Knowledge in the Patristic Era
6
Science in the Early Middle Ages: Preserving Fragments
12
The High Middle Ages: The Rediscovery of Aristotle and Scholastic Natural Philosophy
15
Later Scholasticism: Exploring