Science and Creation: From Eternal Cycles to an Oscillating Universe

by Stanley L. Jaki

This is the first systematic probing into perhaps the most puzzling, but least discussed fact of cultural the birth of science. Cultural history abounds in parallel achievements, but it happended only once, between 1250 and 1650, that rudimentary science turned into a self-sustaining enterprise. Such a singular process can hardly be without a lesson, the grasp of which might be of crucial importance for the future of mankind. To unfold this lesson the author, Stanley L. Jaki, Distinguished University Professor at Seton Hall University, New Jersey, and an internationally renowned historian and philosopher of science, first gives a detailed analysis of ancient Hindu, Chinese, Maya, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek cultures, all of which, especially the Greek, could boast a valuable start in science. Yet, in all of them, science suffered a stillbirth. They all failed to muster up a sufficient measure faith in progress, confidence in the rationality of the universe, appreciation of the quantitative method, and a depersonalized view of the process of motion, all qualities which are the main features of the scientific quest. Because the Koran overemphasized the will of the Creator, Muslim scholars fell prey to a mistrust in the validity of rational laws, and as a result science came to a standstill among the Arabs as well. Quite different was the case in the Christian, medieval West, where the biblical faith in the Creator permeated for the first time a whole culture and effectively produced the qualities described above. The ultimate result was the rise of classical physics. Such is the main theme of a highly original book, in which an astonishing wealth of information is marshalled to unfold, as the author states, 'the ultimate consequences of some basic presuppositions'. The work is a classic effort of synthesis, full of drama that vibrates through the long history of science.

Genres: Science, Religion, Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

377 pages, Paperback

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.