Books about Naturalism from Amazon.com

About the Book

A Likewise book.

Greg Graffin is frontman, singer and songwriter for the punk band Bad Religion He also happens to have a Ph.D. in zoology and wrote his dissertation on evolution, atheism and naturalism. Preston Jones is a history professor at a Christian college and a fan of Bad Religion's music. One day, on a whim, Preston sent Greg an appreciative e-mail. That was the start of an extraordinary correspondence.

For several months, Preston and Greg sent e-mails back and forth on big topics like God, religion, knowledge, evil, evolution, biology, destiny and the nature of reality. Preston believes in God; Greg sees insufficient evidence for God's existence. Over the course of their friendly debate, they tackle such cosmic questions as: Is religion rational or irrational? Does morality require belief in God? Do people only believe in God because they are genetically predisposed toward religion? How do we make sense of suffering in the world? Is this universe all there is? And what does it all matter?

In this engaging book, Preston and Greg's actual e-mail correspondence is reproduced, along with bonus materials that provide additional background and context. Each makes his case for why he thinks his worldview is more compelling and explanatory. While they find some places to agree, neither one convinces the other. They can't both be right. So which worldview is more plausible? You decide..
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In addition to explications of such worldviews as theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism, Marxism, and others, this third edition includes a new chapter on postmodernism and a thoroughly revised chapter on New Age philosophy..
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If God does not exist, then what does? Is there good and evil, and should we care? How do we know what's true anyway? And can we make any sense of this universe, or our own lives? Sense and Goodness answers all these questions in lavish detail, without complex jargon. A complete worldview is presented and defended, covering every subject from knowledge to art, from metaphysics to morality, from theology to politics. Topics include free will, the nature of the universe, the meaning of life, and much more, arguing from scientific evidence that there is only a physical, natural world without gods or spirits, but that we can still live a life of love, meaning, and joy..
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For Introduction to the Humanities and General Humanities courses An introductory exploration of basic artistic concepts and terms applied to a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural history of artistic styles. This text treats all the arts--painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, music, theatre, dance, film, architecture, literature--uniformly, as it ties both artistic media and history to the theme of art as a reflection of human reality..
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With the rise in prominence of the Intelligent Design movement (along with its vehement critics), the debate over origins increasingly plays itself out in the scientific community, the courts, the school boards, and the media. A traditional argument of proponents of evolution is that science in general, and evolution in particular, is empirically based, free from any religious or philosophical underpinnings. It follows, then, that science is a more trustworthy perspective on reality.

In this thought-provoking book, Cornelius Hunter turns that argument on its head. Through a study of the history of thought, he shows that in fact, modern science has been greatly influenced by theological and metaphysical considerations. This has resulted in the significant influence of what he calls "theological naturalism." Thus, naturalism is not a result of empirical scientific inquiry, but rather a presupposition of science. This bias is science's "blind spot," and it has profound implications for how scientific theories are evaluated and thus advanced or suppressed. In the end, Hunter proposes a better way--moderate empiricism--and shows how Intelligent Design fits into such a method. Science's Blind Spot provides food for thought for anyone interested in the intersection between scientific and religious thought..
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Voted one of Christianity Today's 1996 Books of the Year!In his first book, Darwin on Trial, Berkeley law professor Phillip E. Johnson took on the heavyweights of science And he got their attention, even provoking a response from neo-Darwinist Stephen Jay Gould in the pages of Scientific American. Now Johnson's back with a book that expands his critique from science to law, education and today's culture wars.Is God unconstitutional?Why is morality forced out of public school curriculum?Can Christians believe in God and evolution?Why aren't we getting anywhere in the debate over abortion?Will the Grand Unified Theory solve the riddle of the universe?Johnson dares to answer these and other tough, touchy questions. He reveals why naturalism (the philosophy that the material world is all there was, is and will be) has become "the established religious philosophy of America," supplanting Judeo-Christian belief. He shows how naturalism undergirds science, law, education and popular culture. And he argues that naturalism has even infiltrated the church--marginalizing opposition as irrational, and encouraging Christians to adopt a more "reasonable" stance.In Reason in the Balance, Johnson writes energetically and persuasively--chapter by chapter zeroing in on the chinks in the argument for naturalism. He explores nearly every acre of today's cultural battlefield: God, sex education, evolution, abortion, cosmology and particle physics, what our public schools should teach, the basis of law, the meaning of reason and a few other things that matter. Armed with biblical truth, common sense and a clear understanding of his foe, he steps out like David to fell the intellectual Goliath of our day..
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Two countervailing trends mark the intellectual tenor of our age the spread of naturalistic worldviews and religious orthodoxies. Advances in biogenetics, brain research, and robotics are clearing the way for the penetration of an objective scientific self-understanding of persons into everyday life. For philosophy, this trend is associated with the challenge of scientific naturalism. At the same time, we are witnessing an unexpected revitalization of religious traditions and the politicization of religious communities across the world. From a philosophical perspective, this revival of religious energies poses the challenge of a fundamentalist critique of the principles underlying the modern Wests postmetaphysical understanding of itself.
The tension between naturalism and religion is the central theme of this major new book by Jrgen Habermas. On the one hand he argues for an appropriate naturalistic understanding of cultural evolution that does justice to the normative character of the human mind. On the other hand, he calls for an appropriate interpretation of the secularizing effects of a process of social and cultural rationalization increasingly denounced by the champions of religious orthodoxies as a historical development peculiar to the West. These reflections on the enduring importance of religion and the limits of secularism under conditions of postmetaphysical reason set the scene for an extended treatment the political significance of religious tolerance and for a fresh contribution to current debates on cosmopolitanism and a constitution for international society..
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"An interesting, well written, fascinating critique of positivism I wish this would be sufficient to put the nails in the coffin of positivism once and for all."

--Ian I. Mitroff, University of Southern California

"This book provides a clear discussion of the essential elements of positivism and post-positivism. It also provides a useful set of guidelines for conducting research within the framework of naturalism. Lincoln and Guba reveal the chinks in the armor of conventional methodological ideas. Their writing draws on a vast array of examples and provides a new vocabulary for thinking about method."

--Shulamit Reinharz, Brandeis University

"This book will interest graduate students and educational researchers as well as social scientists struggling with qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A breath of fresh air."

--Choice

"Overall, this volume serves as a good introductory text in naturalistic inquiry and field research courses."

--International Journal of Intercultural Relations

"The book itself is a good illustration of our inclination towards and our need of more general descriptions. . . . If one wants to inform oneself about the paradigmatic discussion and the development of research methodology within the area of studies of social fields, it is a very interesting book."

--Instructional Science

Showing how science is limited by its dominant mode of investigation, Lincoln and Guba propose an alternative paradigm--a "naturalistic" rather than "rationalistic" method of inquiry--in which the investigator avoids manipulating research outcomes. A "paradigm shift" is under way in many fields, they contend, and go on to describe the different assumptions of the two approaches regarding the nature of reality, subject-object interaction, the possibility of generalization, the concept of causality, and the role of values. The authors also offer guidance for research in the field (where, they say, naturalistic inquiry always takes place). Useful tips are given, for example, on "designing" a study as it unfolds, establishing "trustworthiness," and writing a case report. This book helps researchers "both to understand and to do naturalistic inquiry." Of particular interest to educational researchers, it is valuable for all social scientists involved with questions of qualitative and quantitative methodology.

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The book begins by considering responses by French artists to the World War I, showing how Purism, Dada, and early Surrealism are related to the ethos of post-war reconstruction. The authors then discuss the language of construction in places as dissimilar as France, Germany and the Soviet Union; the contrasting demands of the utility and decoration of objects and paintings; and the relationship of Surrealism to questions of sexuality and gender and to Freudian theory. The book concludes by addressing the widespread debate over realism in art: whether it represents an alternative to the elitism of the avant-garde or whether avant-garde art should play a role in the development of a modern realism..
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