The Demarcation of Science and Religion Cover Image

Demarkacja nauki i religii
The Demarcation of Science and Religion

Author(s): Stephen C. Meyer
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Instytut Filozofii, Uniwersytet Zielonogórski
Keywords: demarcation; science; religion; compartmentalism; complementarity model; testability; verifiability; inference to the best explanation; evolution; creationism

Summary/Abstract: Author analyzes attempts to draw a demarcation line between science and religion. He presents arguments of proponents of the idea of strict separation of these domains and indicates flaws of this approach. He suggest also that defining the criteria which could serve as the basis of demarcation of science and pseudoscience is highly problematic, if not impossible. Most modern philosophers are more and more inclined toward to recognize that what is crucial is not whether a theory is scientific but whether it is true or evidentially justified. Author discusses also achievements of modern philosophy of science, especially the results of work on the methods of historical science which are applied also in philosophical and religious discourses. On the basis of this methods author concludes that there exist deep methodological and logical similarities between various theories of origin which are the core of creation-evolution controversy. In his opinion, there is relation of “methodological equivalence” between creationism, intelligent design theory and naturalistic theories of evolution. It means that if we determine their epistemic status on the basis of the same demarcation criteria, then all these approaches can be recognized as equally scientific or equally unscientific.

  • Issue Year: 2009
  • Issue No: 06+07
  • Page Range: 177-196
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish