Ian Barbour | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ian Graeme Barbour (1923-10-05)October 5, 1923 Beijing, China |
| Died | December 24, 2013(2013-12-24) (aged 90) Minneapolis,Minnesota, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | Templeton Prize (1999) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | Magnetic Deflection of Cosmic-ray Mesons Using Nuclear Plates (1950) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | |
| Sub-discipline | Particle physics[2] |
| School or tradition | |
| Institutions | Carleton College |
| Main interests | Relationship between religion and science |
| Notable works | Issues in Science and Religion (1966) |
| Notable ideas | Theological critical realism |
| Influenced | |
Ian Graeme Barbour (October 5, 1923 – December 24, 2013) was an American scholar on therelationship between science and religion. According to thePublic Broadcasting Service his mid-1960sIssues in Science and Religion "has been credited with literally creating the contemporary field of science and religion."[5]
In the citation nominating Barbour for the 1999Templeton 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."[6]
Barbour was born on October 5, 1923, inBeijing, China,[7][8] the second of three sons of an AmericanEpiscopal mother (who was the daughter of theobstetricianRobert Latou Dickinson) and a ScottishPresbyterian father.[5][9] His family left China in 1931 and Barbour spent the remainder of his youth in the United States and England.[10] Aconscientious objector, he served in theCivilian Public Service for three years during theSecond World War.[11][12]
He received hisBachelor of Science degree inphysics fromSwarthmore College and hisMaster of Science degree in physics fromDuke University in 1946.[5] In 1950, he received aDoctor of Philosophy degree in physics from theUniversity of Chicago,[5] where he worked as a teaching assistant toEnrico Fermi.[5][11] He earned aBachelor of Divinity degree in 1956 fromYale University's Divinity School.[5]
Barbour taught atCarleton College beginningin 1955[citation needed] with a joint appointment in the departments of physics and philosophy.[13] He began teaching religion full-time in 1960, when the university established a religion department.[13] In the 1970s, he co-founded of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program at Carleton, which later became the Environment and Technology Studies program. He retired in 1986 as the Winifred and Atherton Bean ProfessorEmeritus of Science, Technology and Society.
Barbour gave theGifford lectures from 1989 to 1991 at theUniversity of Aberdeen. These lectures led to the bookReligion in an Age of Science. He was awarded theTempleton Prize in 1999[5][14] for Progress in Religion in recognition of his efforts to create a dialogue between the worlds of science and religion.
Barbour was married to Deane Kern from 1947 until her death in 2011.[8] They had four children.[15]
Barbour suffered a stroke on December 20, 2013, at his home inNorthfield,Minnesota, and remained in a coma atAbbott Northwestern Hospital until his death four days later.[16]
In his efforts to link science and religion inIssues in Science and Religion, Barbour coined the termcritical 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, includingArthur Peacocke,John Polkinghorne,Sallie McFague, andRobert John Russell. His subjective / objective approach is prominent in the evolving paradigm ofreligious naturalism.[17]
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 inWhen 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.[18] In his works, Barbour writes from a Christian perspective.[19][self-published source]
Barbour compared methods of inquiry in science and religion, and has explored the theological implications of thenatural andsocial sciences. He also has lectured widely on ethical issues in such fields asclimate change, technology policy, energy, agriculture, computers, andcloning.[6]
American academicForrest 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.[20]Michael Dowd calls Barbour the grandfather of the evolutionary Christianity movement.[21]
In his acceptance speech for the 1999Templeton Prize, Barbour spoke about the need to break down barriers, using cloning as an example of science's ability to say what is possible and of religion to reflect on what is desirable.[12]
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Gifford Lecturer at theUniversity of Aberdeen 1989–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Templeton Prize 1999 | Succeeded by |
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