This is an outdated version published on 31-12-2021. Read the most recent version.

God and the Current Science

Authors

  • Juan Manuel Torres Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.50.010

Keywords:

Classical Theism, Contemporary Theism, Cosmological Argument, Intelligent Design Theory, Pseudoscience

Abstract

Today at least three arguments are being discussed that, based on the results of scientific research, try to prove the existence either of a cause of the physical universe, one of them, or of an intelligence transcendent to it, the other two. These arguments are: the cosmological argument, the theory of intelligent design and the anthropic principle. Here we present a synthesis of the first two and make an evaluation of their worth from the philosophy of science. Unlike classic theistic demonstrations, also based on science, such as Thomas Aquinas’1st and 5th ways, developed in his Summa Theologica or that of Newton in his Principia, none of the current arguments cited conclude that God exists, if we understand by "God" an omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent being, in other words, the Biblical God. They stop on step before, entrusting to Philosophy the task of continuing and demonstrating that this first cause or that transcendent intelligence is God. In addition to giving our judgment on the probative value of the cosmological argument and of the intelligent design theory, we demonstrate, based on the usual notions of science and pseudoscience, that the latter is a genuine scientific hypothesis. In this way, we refute the spreading and false affirmation that this theory is a case of pseudoscience.

Author Biography

Juan Manuel Torres, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

El autor es licenciado en filosofía por la Universidad del Salvador y doctor en filosofía por la Universidad Nacional del Sur. Sus principales contribuciones pertenecen al ámbito de la filosofía de la ciencia, con especial referencia a la filosofía de la biología y de la medicina. Posee numerosos artículos en revistas internacionales de filosofía y de ciencia, entre ellas, el Journal of Philosophy and Medicine, Medicine Health Care and Philosophy, The Journal of the History and Philosophy of Science, Biology Forum, Human Gene Therapy y Philosophia Naturalis. Actualmente, retirado como profesor de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, dicta en ella y otras instituciones cursos latinoamericanos para graduados e investigadores de filosofía y ciencia.

References

Axe, Douglas. "Estimating the prevalence of protein sequences adopting functional enzyme folds". Journal of Molecular Biology 341 (2004): 1295-1315.

Axe, Douglas. Undeniable. New York: Harper One, 2016.

Behe, Michael. The Edge of Evolution. New York: Free Press, 2007.

Behe, Michael. "The modern intelligent design hypothesis". En God and Design: The Teleological Argument and Modern Science, ed. por N. Manson. London & N, 276-291. York: Routledge, 2003.

Behe, Michael. Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: Free Press, 1996.

Burtt, Edwin. The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science. London: Paul Kegan, 1954.

Craig Lane, William. "Naturalism and the origin of the universe". En The Nature of Nature, ed. por B. Gordon y W. Dembski, 506-534. Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2011.

Dembski, William. The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities. Cambridge Massachusetts: Cambridge U. Press, 1998.

Gauger, Ann & Axe, Douglas. ʺThe evolutionary accessibility of new enzyme functions: A case of study from the biotin pathwayʺ. Bio-Complexity 2, n° 1 (2011): 1-17.

Hawking, Stephen & Roger Penrose. "The singularities of the gravitational collapse and cosmology", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A-314 (1970): 529-548.

Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.

Jacob, Françoise. "Evolution and tinkering". Science 196 (1977): 1161-1966.

Kant, Enmanuel. Historia General de la Naturaleza y Teoría del Cielo. Buenos Aires: Juárez Editor, 1960.

Küppers, Bernd Olaf. Information and the Origin of Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1990.

Laplace, Pierre-Simon. Exposition du Systême du Monde. Paris: De la imprimerie du Cercle Social, L'an IV de la République Française.

Downloads

Published

31-12-2021

Versions

How to Cite

Torres, Juan Manuel. 2021. “God and the Current Science”. Philosophia 81 (2):135-55. https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.50.010.

Issue

Vol. 81 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Artículos

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Philosophia

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Se permite la reproducción de los artículos siempre y cuando se cite la fuente. This work is protected under license Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) You are free to: Share "” copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format; Adapt "” remix, transform, and build upon the material
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
Attribution "” You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

NonCommercial "” You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

ShareAlike "” If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

No additional restrictions "” You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

For more information, please visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/deed.en