Conversations on Faith and Science
March 14, 2007
Continuing on the theme of science and religion...
- Lunging, Flailing Mispunching, a friend's blog posting on Richard Dawkins and why it is good that we ask "why" and not just "how"
- Darwin's God, a New York Times Magazine article on evolutionary/anthropological approaches to belief. Evaluates the main two camps: the byproduct theory and the adaptionist theory. Is religion a byproduct of other conditions that led to genetic fitness, or is it per se inducing of reproductive fitness? I'm definitely in the latter camp, believing strongly that religion influences culture influences genetics. Witness development of lactose tolerance in certain cultures.
- God and gorillas, an article I haven't actually read yet but have on good authority is worth it. "Anthropologist Barbara J. King explains what our distant cousins can tell us about religion and why it's OK for scientists to believe in God."