Science and Creation: From Eternal Cycles to an Oscillating Universe by Stanley L. Jaki

by Stanley L. Jaki

divinity of the upper heavens

Genres: Science, Religion, Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

367 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1973

About the author

Stanley L. Jaki, a Hungarian-born Catholic priest of the Benedictine Order, was Distinguished University Professor at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. With doctorates in theology and physics, he has specialized in the history and philosophy of science. The author of almost forty books and nearly a hundred articles, he served as Gifford Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and as Fremantle Lecturer at Balliol College, Oxford. He has lectured at major universities in the Unites States, Europe, and Australia. He was a honorary member of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences, membre correspondant of the Académie Nationale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts of Bourdeaux, and the recipient of the Lecomte du Nouy Prize for 1970 and of the Templeton Prize for 1987. He was among the first to claim that Gödel's incompleteness theorem is relevant for theories of everything (TOE) in theoretical physics.

Reviews

[Peter Floriani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first books by Jaki I read. Here I learned of the great physicist and historian of science, Pierre Duhem, and his discoveries of the work by the great medieval scholars Buridan and Oresme.

The first six chapters of this book consider six great ancient civilizations: Egypt, China, India, Meso-America, Babylonia, and Greece, and shows how each of these, despite doing accurate explorations and making real advcances, failed to give rise to a viable science - what SLJ calls "the stillbirths of science". Then comes one of the most amazing chapters in any of Jaki's writing: "The Beacon of the Covenant", which examines the place of science in the Hebrew/Jewish culture. It is grand, reassuring, and surprising. There are even greater surprises, the reference to Augustine's work which explains the proper use of Holy Scripture in its encounter with scientific discoveries, and also the revelation brought out by Duhem of the foundation of Modern Science (that is, in its Newtonian character, and in opposition to Aristotle) by the great medieval scholar Buridan.

It is a challenge to read, and will produce debate, but it is well-researched, well-written, and fascinating.

[Paul Gosselin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dans Creation and Science, l'historien de la science Stanley L. Jaki explore plusieurs grandes civilisations antiques, entre autres les Grecs, les Egyptiens, les Babyloniens, les Indiens, les Chinois cherchant pourquoi leurs tentatives de développer la science ont bloqués. Jaki constate que ce n'est qu'en Occident, là où la notion d'un Dieu créateur, transcendant et omniscient était devenue une partie intégrante des croyances fondamentales d'une culture, qu'une science théorique et expérimentale a pu se développer:

"La quête scientifique trouva une terre propice seulement lorsque la foi dans un Créateur rationnel et personnel avait véritablement pénétrée de part en part, la culture à partir du haut moyen âge. C'est cette foi qui rendit possible, dans une large mesure, la confiance dans le rationalité de l'univers, la confiance dans le progrès, et une appréciation de la méthode quantitative, ingrédients tous indispensables à la poursuite de la quête scientifique.