Ian Barbour
Encyclopedia
Ian Graeme Barbour, born 5 October 1923, is an American scholar on the relationship between science and religion. According to the Public Broadcasting Service
his mid-1960s Issues in Science and Religion
"has been credited with literally creating the contemporary field of science and religion."
In the citation nominating Barbour for the 1999 Templeton Prize, John B. Cobb wrote "No contemporary has made a more original, deep and lasting contribution toward the needed integration of scientific and religious knowledge and values than Ian Barbour. With respect to the breadth of topics and fields brought into this integration, Barbour has no equal"
He received his B.Sc.
in physics
from Swarthmore College
, his M.Sc.
in physics from Duke University
in 1946, and a Ph.D.
in physics from the University of Chicago
in 1950.
He earned a B.Div.
in 1956 from Yale University
's Divinity School. Barbour taught for many years at Carleton College
with appointments as professor of religion and as Winifred and Atherton Bean Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and Society. He has held emeritus
honors there since 1986.
Barbour gave the Gifford lectures
from 1989 – 1991 at the University of Aberdeen
. These lectures led to the book Religion in an Age of Science. He was awarded the Templeton Prize
in 1999 for Progress in Religion in recognition of his efforts to create a dialogue between the worlds of science and religion.
, John Polkinghorne
, Sallie McFague
and Robert John Russell
. His subjective / objective approach is prominent in the evolving paradigm of Religious Naturalism
.
Barbour considered critical realism an alternative to the competing interpretations of scientific theories: classical or naive realism, instrumentalism and idealism. A critical realist perspective sees scientific theories yielding partial, revisable, abstract, but referential knowledge of the world that can be expressed through metaphors and models.
During the 1970s Barbour presented a program of interdisciplinary courses that dealt with ethical issues in the applications of science, exploring the social and environmental consequences of a variety of technologies. In 2000 in When Science Meets Religion (2000) he used a fourfold typology (Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, Integration) to relate religion and science that he had developed in his earlier writings. In his works, Barbour writes from a Christian perspective.
Barbour compares methods of inquiry in science and religion, and has explored the theological implications of the Big Bang theory, quantum physics, evolutionary biology and genetics. He also has lectured widely on ethical issues in such fields as technology policy, energy, agriculture, computers and cloning.
Forrest Clingerman ties Barbour to the Religious Naturalism movement via his theology of nature. His subjective/objective approach to religious is prominent in this evolving paradigm. Michael Dowd
calls Barbour the granddaddy of the evolutionary Christianity movement.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
his mid-1960s Issues in Science and Religion
Issues in Science and Religion
Issues in Science and Religion is a book by Ian Barbour. A biography provided by the John Templeton Foundation and published by PBS online states this book "has been credited with literally creating the contemporary field of science and religion."...
"has been credited with literally creating the contemporary field of science and religion."
In the citation nominating Barbour for the 1999 Templeton Prize, John B. Cobb wrote "No contemporary has made a more original, deep and lasting contribution toward the needed integration of scientific and religious knowledge and values than Ian Barbour. With respect to the breadth of topics and fields brought into this integration, Barbour has no equal"
Biography
Barbour was born in Beijing China the second of three sons of an American Episcopalian mother and a Scottish Presbyterian father. He spent his childhood in China, the United States, and England.He received his B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, his M.Sc.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in physics from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in 1946, and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in physics from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1950.
He earned a B.Div.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
in 1956 from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's Divinity School. Barbour taught for many years at Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
with appointments as professor of religion and as Winifred and Atherton Bean Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and Society. He has held emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
honors there since 1986.
Barbour gave the Gifford lectures
Gifford Lectures
The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
from 1989 – 1991 at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
. These lectures led to the book Religion in an Age of Science. He was awarded the Templeton Prize
Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award presented by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical...
in 1999 for Progress in Religion in recognition of his efforts to create a dialogue between the worlds of science and religion.
Philosophy and theology
In his efforts to link science and religion in Issues in Science and Religion, Barbour coined the term ‘critical realism’. This has been adopted by other scholars. He claimed the basic structure of religion is similar to that of science in some ways but also differs on some crucial points. They are part of the same spectrum in which both display subjective as well as objective features. The subjective include the theory on data, the resistance of comprehensive theories to falsification, and the absence of rules for choice among paradigms. Objective features include the presence of common data, evidence for or against a theory, and criteria which are not paradigm-dependent. The presence of subjective and objective features in both science and religion makes his thinking valuable and original. Barbour’s arguments have been developed in significant and diverse ways by a variety of scholars, including Arthur PeacockeArthur Peacocke
The Reverend Canon Arthur Robert Peacocke MBE was a British theologian and biochemist.-Biography:Arthur Robert Peacocke was born at Watford in on 29 November 1924...
, John Polkinghorne
John Polkinghorne
John Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest...
, Sallie McFague
Sallie McFague
Sallie McFague is an American feminist Christian theologian, best known for her analysis of how metaphor lies at the heart of how we may speak about God. She has applied this approach in particular to ecological issues, writing extensively on care for the earth as if it were God’s ‘body’.McFague...
and Robert John Russell
Robert John Russell
Robert John Russell is founder and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences . He is also the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at the Graduate Theological Union...
. His subjective / objective approach is prominent in the evolving paradigm of Religious Naturalism
Religious naturalism
Religious naturalism is an approach to spirituality that is devoid of supernaturalism. The focus is on the religious attributes of the universe/Nature, the understanding of it and our response to it . These provide for the development of an eco-morality...
.
Barbour considered critical realism an alternative to the competing interpretations of scientific theories: classical or naive realism, instrumentalism and idealism. A critical realist perspective sees scientific theories yielding partial, revisable, abstract, but referential knowledge of the world that can be expressed through metaphors and models.
During the 1970s Barbour presented a program of interdisciplinary courses that dealt with ethical issues in the applications of science, exploring the social and environmental consequences of a variety of technologies. In 2000 in When Science Meets Religion (2000) he used a fourfold typology (Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, Integration) to relate religion and science that he had developed in his earlier writings. In his works, Barbour writes from a Christian perspective.
Barbour compares methods of inquiry in science and religion, and has explored the theological implications of the Big Bang theory, quantum physics, evolutionary biology and genetics. He also has lectured widely on ethical issues in such fields as technology policy, energy, agriculture, computers and cloning.
Forrest Clingerman ties Barbour to the Religious Naturalism movement via his theology of nature. His subjective/objective approach to religious is prominent in this evolving paradigm. Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd is an American evolutionary theologian, bestselling author, and evangelist for Big History and Religious Naturalism....
calls Barbour the granddaddy of the evolutionary Christianity movement.
External links
- His biography at PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
online with links to: - May 28, 1999 Elizabeth FarnsworthElizabeth FarnsworthElizabeth Farnsworth is an American television news anchorwoman.Born in 1943 Elizabeth Fink in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a family of farmers, teachers, doctors and railroad executives....
interview - Templeton Prize press release on Carleton CollegeCarleton CollegeCarleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
website. - Ian Barbour -Introduction to the Teleseries on Evolutionary Christianity, Followed by, “God and Evolution”