Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23franklin
Patrick S. Franklin
{"title":"Moving Forward Together: The Future of Science and Faith","authors":"Patrick S. Franklin","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23franklin","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23franklin","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p />","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":"67 s265","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138621937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23schultz
Walter J. Schultz
Paul Benacerraf claimed in 1973 that realist accounts of truth which are applicable to propositions of both mathematics and science inevitably conflict with accounts of how propositions are known. This article presents a solution to the problem based on two assumptions: (1) that the God of the Bible is absolutely self-sufficient; and (2) that God is creating, providentially guiding, and redeeming according to his plans for his purposes in Christ. A coherent synthesis of what these assumptions entail itself entails that “abstract” and physical structures are real and that propositional knowledge of them is a matter of one’s cognitive faculties functioning properly due to God’s acting.
Paul Benacerraf在1973年声称，适用于数学和科学命题的现实主义真理描述不可避免地与如何认识命题的描述相冲突。本文提出了一个基于两个假设的解决方案:(1)圣经中的神是绝对自给自足的;(2)神正在按照他在基督里的计划创造、引导和救赎。对这些假设的连贯综合意味着，“抽象的”和物理结构是真实的，对它们的命题知识是一个人的认知能力在上帝的作用下正常运作的问题。
{"title":"Real Structures and Divine Action Externalism: A Solution to Benacerraf's Problem","authors":"Walter J. Schultz","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23schultz","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23schultz","url":null,"abstract":"Paul Benacerraf claimed in 1973 that realist accounts of truth which are applicable to propositions of both mathematics and science inevitably conflict with accounts of how propositions are known. This article presents a solution to the problem based on two assumptions: (1) that the God of the Bible is absolutely self-sufficient; and (2) that God is creating, providentially guiding, and redeeming according to his plans for his purposes in Christ. A coherent synthesis of what these assumptions entail itself entails that “abstract” and physical structures are real and that propositional knowledge of them is a matter of one’s cognitive faculties functioning properly due to God’s acting.","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":"101 40","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138609156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23rasmussen
Joshua Rasmussen
WHO ARE YOU REALLY? A Philosopher's Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Persons by Joshua Rasmussen. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2023. 304 pages. Paperback; $30.00. ISBN 9781514003947. *In this text, philosopher Joshua Rasmussen attempts to understand the nature of human persons (Part One) and their origin (Part Two) through a study of human consciousness. While his book is an exercise in philosophical analysis, he offers reflections on the plausibility of his arguments in light of recent findings in psychology and theoretical physics. *In the first two chapters, Rasmussen establishes the framework for his analysis. Of particular significance is his use of introspection to argue against reductionist accounts of consciousness. By introspection, he means attention to first-person experience of the data of consciousness, such as thoughts and feelings (pp. 8-10). Such attention shows that the best explanation of consciousness will be one that accounts for the reality of mental states. Since we can have what Rasmussen calls a direct, introspective awareness of mental states, we can know these states are real (pp. 30, 40). *The next four chapters build upon this realist account of the contents of consciousness by attending to thoughts, perceptions, intentions, and values. In each case, Rasmussen concludes that the best way to account for the existence of these mental states is by changing our orientation from a "mindlessness frame" to a "mind-first" frame (p. 123). So, for example, introspection reveals that thoughts are real, but are not the same as, nor are they simply reducible to, brain states (pp. 57-59). Likewise, introspection reveals that the elements necessary for a free choice--i.e., agency, intention, and options--are present in acts of willing, and that the reality of these mental acts is confirmed insofar as they affect material states (p. 116). In summary, the existence of these various mental states requires a mental context, which is the mind. But since mental states also change, there must be a constant that anchors the mental context, and that anchor is what Rasmussen means by a person. "Qualities in consciousness depend on the existence of someone with a mind" (p. 142, emphasis mine). *There is much that is relevant in these chapters to those interested in how science might inform philosophy of mind. In his analysis of thoughts, Rasmussen notes physicist Alex Rosenberg's objection to the existence of a mind (p. 74). Rosenberg's critique provides Rasmussen with an example of how science can help philosophy clarify the question. In this case, the question is what kind of material must exist for thoughts to exist. Introspection reveals the need to posit some "material" that cannot be accounted for only by reference to the data of physics. In his analysis of the will, Rasmussen notes that recent studies in neuroscience have found evidence that conscious acts precede the quantifiable brain activity associated with those acts, thus
{"title":"Who Are You Really? A Philosopher’s Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Persons","authors":"Joshua Rasmussen","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23rasmussen","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23rasmussen","url":null,"abstract":"WHO ARE YOU REALLY? A Philosopher's Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Persons by Joshua Rasmussen. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2023. 304 pages. Paperback; $30.00. ISBN 9781514003947. *In this text, philosopher Joshua Rasmussen attempts to understand the nature of human persons (Part One) and their origin (Part Two) through a study of human consciousness. While his book is an exercise in philosophical analysis, he offers reflections on the plausibility of his arguments in light of recent findings in psychology and theoretical physics. *In the first two chapters, Rasmussen establishes the framework for his analysis. Of particular significance is his use of introspection to argue against reductionist accounts of consciousness. By introspection, he means attention to first-person experience of the data of consciousness, such as thoughts and feelings (pp. 8-10). Such attention shows that the best explanation of consciousness will be one that accounts for the reality of mental states. Since we can have what Rasmussen calls a direct, introspective awareness of mental states, we can know these states are real (pp. 30, 40). *The next four chapters build upon this realist account of the contents of consciousness by attending to thoughts, perceptions, intentions, and values. In each case, Rasmussen concludes that the best way to account for the existence of these mental states is by changing our orientation from a \"mindlessness frame\" to a \"mind-first\" frame (p. 123). So, for example, introspection reveals that thoughts are real, but are not the same as, nor are they simply reducible to, brain states (pp. 57-59). Likewise, introspection reveals that the elements necessary for a free choice--i.e., agency, intention, and options--are present in acts of willing, and that the reality of these mental acts is confirmed insofar as they affect material states (p. 116). In summary, the existence of these various mental states requires a mental context, which is the mind. But since mental states also change, there must be a constant that anchors the mental context, and that anchor is what Rasmussen means by a person. \"Qualities in consciousness depend on the existence of someone with a mind\" (p. 142, emphasis mine). *There is much that is relevant in these chapters to those interested in how science might inform philosophy of mind. In his analysis of thoughts, Rasmussen notes physicist Alex Rosenberg's objection to the existence of a mind (p. 74). Rosenberg's critique provides Rasmussen with an example of how science can help philosophy clarify the question. In this case, the question is what kind of material must exist for thoughts to exist. Introspection reveals the need to posit some \"material\" that cannot be accounted for only by reference to the data of physics. In his analysis of the will, Rasmussen notes that recent studies in neuroscience have found evidence that conscious acts precede the quantifiable brain activity associated with those acts, thus ","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":"185 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138621686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Certain scholars find evidence that the authors of the New Testament held to the cosmology of the ancient Near East, in which the sky is regarded as a solid dome over a flat earth. However, it was uncontroversial among Greco-Roman astronomers that the earth was spherical and was surrounded by a celestial sphere of stars. This article explores knowledge of the “two spheres” model of the cosmos in the first century CE, as this would have been become known to inhabitants of the Mediterranean world through education, word of mouth, popular astrology, and representations of the terrestrial and celestial spheres on sundials, coins, and public art. Based on these factors and the sophistication of their compositions, a number of contributors to the New Testament likely understood the earth to be spherical; their knowledge has exegetical and hermeneutical implications for discussions about scripture vis-à-vis modern science.
{"title":"Did the New Testament Authors Believe the Earth Is Flat?","authors":"William Horst","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23horst","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23horst","url":null,"abstract":"Certain scholars find evidence that the authors of the New Testament held to the cosmology of the ancient Near East, in which the sky is regarded as a solid dome over a flat earth. However, it was uncontroversial among Greco-Roman astronomers that the earth was spherical and was surrounded by a celestial sphere of stars. This article explores knowledge of the “two spheres” model of the cosmos in the first century CE, as this would have been become known to inhabitants of the Mediterranean world through education, word of mouth, popular astrology, and representations of the terrestrial and celestial spheres on sundials, coins, and public art. Based on these factors and the sophistication of their compositions, a number of contributors to the New Testament likely understood the earth to be spherical; their knowledge has exegetical and hermeneutical implications for discussions about scripture vis-à-vis modern science.","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":" 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138614151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23miller
Keith B. Miller
READINGS ON EVOLUTION AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE: One Christian's Perspective by Keith B. Miller. Morgantown, PA: Mastof Press, 2022. 224 pages. Paperback; $20.00. ISBN: 9781601268129. *Keith B. Miller has dedicated his career to conducting paleontological and geological research and teaching at a public university. In addition to his many contributions to the geoscience literature and his activity in professional societies, he has contributed multiple provocative articles that advanced faith and science dialogue, many in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. Readings on Evolution and the Nature of Science: One Christian's Perspective is a collection of sixteen of Miller's articles published between 1993 and 2018 and one previously unpublished manuscript. The articles are clustered among five sections that represent the foci of Miller's writing and public address. *In The Nature of Science section, Miller addresses misunderstandings of science held by the public. He describes how misconceptions have been promoted by traditional young earth creationists and intelligent design advocates who have great contemporary influence on churches, seminaries, local school boards, and state legislatures. In footnotes to the first article, "The Similarity of Theory Testing in the Historical and 'Hard' Sciences," Miller reveals that the integrity of historical science (such as geology and paleontology) was debated in the development of Kansas science education standards. Drawing from the philosophy of science and using examples from geology, he defends historical science as not different from "hard" science in its predictive and explanatory power. *While evolution is the volume's overarching theme, in the second article Miller examines science's nature as applied to the public debate over anthropogenic global warming. He recognizes widely held misconceptions of science that fuel the rejection of controversial theories such as climate change and evolution. These include misunderstandings of fact and theory and the misconception that "unproven" theories should not become the basis for public action. To demonstrate the importance of scale and context in theory making, Miller presents actual data sets revealing patterns of global environmental change at different scales and timeframes. Incidentally, those climatic patterns up to 2012, the year of the article's original publication, have persisted since with increasingly observable and negative consequences. Finally, Miller considers the widespread rejection of scientific consensus motivated by religious, economic, political, or philosophical interests. *Two articles in this section focus on evolution as science, written to scientists and science educators likely holding an evolutionary view. In "The Misguided Attack on Methodological Naturalism," Miller rejects the intelligent design (ID) movement's claim that methodological naturalism (MN), the presupposition that limits science's purview to natural phenomena
{"title":"Readings on Evolution and the Nature of Science: One Christian’s Perspective","authors":"Keith B. Miller","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23miller","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23miller","url":null,"abstract":"READINGS ON EVOLUTION AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE: One Christian's Perspective by Keith B. Miller. Morgantown, PA: Mastof Press, 2022. 224 pages. Paperback; $20.00. ISBN: 9781601268129. *Keith B. Miller has dedicated his career to conducting paleontological and geological research and teaching at a public university. In addition to his many contributions to the geoscience literature and his activity in professional societies, he has contributed multiple provocative articles that advanced faith and science dialogue, many in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. Readings on Evolution and the Nature of Science: One Christian's Perspective is a collection of sixteen of Miller's articles published between 1993 and 2018 and one previously unpublished manuscript. The articles are clustered among five sections that represent the foci of Miller's writing and public address. *In The Nature of Science section, Miller addresses misunderstandings of science held by the public. He describes how misconceptions have been promoted by traditional young earth creationists and intelligent design advocates who have great contemporary influence on churches, seminaries, local school boards, and state legislatures. In footnotes to the first article, \"The Similarity of Theory Testing in the Historical and 'Hard' Sciences,\" Miller reveals that the integrity of historical science (such as geology and paleontology) was debated in the development of Kansas science education standards. Drawing from the philosophy of science and using examples from geology, he defends historical science as not different from \"hard\" science in its predictive and explanatory power. *While evolution is the volume's overarching theme, in the second article Miller examines science's nature as applied to the public debate over anthropogenic global warming. He recognizes widely held misconceptions of science that fuel the rejection of controversial theories such as climate change and evolution. These include misunderstandings of fact and theory and the misconception that \"unproven\" theories should not become the basis for public action. To demonstrate the importance of scale and context in theory making, Miller presents actual data sets revealing patterns of global environmental change at different scales and timeframes. Incidentally, those climatic patterns up to 2012, the year of the article's original publication, have persisted since with increasingly observable and negative consequences. Finally, Miller considers the widespread rejection of scientific consensus motivated by religious, economic, political, or philosophical interests. *Two articles in this section focus on evolution as science, written to scientists and science educators likely holding an evolutionary view. In \"The Misguided Attack on Methodological Naturalism,\" Miller rejects the intelligent design (ID) movement's claim that methodological naturalism (MN), the presupposition that limits science's purview to natural phenomena","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":" 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138620832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23thacker
THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SQUARE: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society edited by Jason Thacker. Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2023. 384 pages. Paperback; $34.99. ISBN: 9781087759821. *Questions about the role of digital technologies are becoming increasingly important. In 2014, Luciano Floridi published The Onlife Manifesto, arguing that the digital and physical worlds were in the process of merging and that any meaningful distinction between offline and online was shrinking. The advance in digital technology provides fertile ground for academic discussion of digital technologies and their role in human society. Following the popularity of The Age of AI, Jason Thacker has quickly become one of the prominent voices in evangelical thought in this area. His most recent contribution is an edited volume, The Digital Public Square, which focuses on issues of public theology such as censorship, sexual ethics, hate speech, or religious freedom as they present themselves in the digital milieu. Following Jacques Ellul, Thacker dubs this milieu "the technological society." *The book contains thirteen articles that are divided into three major sections which attempt to articulate a public theology for the technological society. Public theology is a relatively young field. Hak Joon Lee suggests that public theology seeks to engender religious discourse within the context of a pluralistic society by acknowledging the importance of human rights, tolerance, equality, and other democratic values without suppressing the variety of possible expressions of religion.1 Public theology is a theology done towards, with, and for the general public for the sake of the common good of the society. *The first section attempts to provide the foundation for public theology in a technological society. Chapter 1 sets out a Christian philosophy of technology, chapter 2 advocates for the virtue of patience in online interactions, and chapter 3 charts a middle path between technological optimism and pessimism in US attitudes toward technology. A particular standout is chapter 4, Patricia Shaw's extensive survey of international technology policy in "The Global Digital Marketplace." While, like most policy articles, it is a little dry, Shaw's article is thorough, well sourced, and well organized. Finally, chapter 5 discusses the challenges of free speech in a digital milieu and the limits of policy-based approaches. *The second section of the book includes six articles that address specific issues in public theology with an eye toward specifically digital iterations of these issues. This section covers implications of freedom of speech on digital media (chap. 6), specifically hate speech (chap. 7), content moderation (chap. 8), and pornography (chap. 9). It also addresses the explosion of conspiracy theories and the problem of digital misinformation (chap. 10) and the rise of digital authoritarianism (chap. 11). Finally, the third section offers two articles that articulate the churc
{"title":"The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society","authors":"","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23thacker","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23thacker","url":null,"abstract":"THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SQUARE: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society edited by Jason Thacker. Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2023. 384 pages. Paperback; $34.99. ISBN: 9781087759821. *Questions about the role of digital technologies are becoming increasingly important. In 2014, Luciano Floridi published The Onlife Manifesto, arguing that the digital and physical worlds were in the process of merging and that any meaningful distinction between offline and online was shrinking. The advance in digital technology provides fertile ground for academic discussion of digital technologies and their role in human society. Following the popularity of The Age of AI, Jason Thacker has quickly become one of the prominent voices in evangelical thought in this area. His most recent contribution is an edited volume, The Digital Public Square, which focuses on issues of public theology such as censorship, sexual ethics, hate speech, or religious freedom as they present themselves in the digital milieu. Following Jacques Ellul, Thacker dubs this milieu \"the technological society.\" *The book contains thirteen articles that are divided into three major sections which attempt to articulate a public theology for the technological society. Public theology is a relatively young field. Hak Joon Lee suggests that public theology seeks to engender religious discourse within the context of a pluralistic society by acknowledging the importance of human rights, tolerance, equality, and other democratic values without suppressing the variety of possible expressions of religion.1 Public theology is a theology done towards, with, and for the general public for the sake of the common good of the society. *The first section attempts to provide the foundation for public theology in a technological society. Chapter 1 sets out a Christian philosophy of technology, chapter 2 advocates for the virtue of patience in online interactions, and chapter 3 charts a middle path between technological optimism and pessimism in US attitudes toward technology. A particular standout is chapter 4, Patricia Shaw's extensive survey of international technology policy in \"The Global Digital Marketplace.\" While, like most policy articles, it is a little dry, Shaw's article is thorough, well sourced, and well organized. Finally, chapter 5 discusses the challenges of free speech in a digital milieu and the limits of policy-based approaches. *The second section of the book includes six articles that address specific issues in public theology with an eye toward specifically digital iterations of these issues. This section covers implications of freedom of speech on digital media (chap. 6), specifically hate speech (chap. 7), content moderation (chap. 8), and pornography (chap. 9). It also addresses the explosion of conspiracy theories and the problem of digital misinformation (chap. 10) and the rise of digital authoritarianism (chap. 11). Finally, the third section offers two articles that articulate the churc","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":"109 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138607667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23schuurman
Derek C. Schuurman
Two questions concerning artificial intelligence (AI) and virtue are explored. The first question is whether AI is capable of virtue, and the second question explores if AI can assist humans in the acquisition of virtue. It is argued that AI cannot be a moral agent and therefore cannot genuinely be virtuous. However, AI can perform behaviors that are in accordance with virtuous behavior. The notion of "virtue-by-proxy" is introduced in which virtuous programmers can strive to design AI programs that are trained to mimic certain virtues or behave in accordance with virtue. Next, it is argued that since AI systems can nudge humans toward repeated practices and habits, they will inevitably shape and form users. Thus, AI systems might be designed to assist humans with virtue formation; likewise, they could be misdirected to encourage certain vices. Finally, the concept of virtue in the Christian tradition is contrasted with secular notions of virtue and is used to inform limits on the role of AI in virtue formation.
{"title":"Virtue and Artificial Intelligence","authors":"Derek C. Schuurman","doi":"10.56315/pscf12-23schuurman","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56315/pscf12-23schuurman","url":null,"abstract":"Two questions concerning artificial intelligence (AI) and virtue are explored. The first question is whether AI is capable of virtue, and the second question explores if AI can assist humans in the acquisition of virtue. It is argued that AI cannot be a moral agent and therefore cannot genuinely be virtuous. However, AI can perform behaviors that are in accordance with virtuous behavior. The notion of \"virtue-by-proxy\" is introduced in which virtuous programmers can strive to design AI programs that are trained to mimic certain virtues or behave in accordance with virtue. Next, it is argued that since AI systems can nudge humans toward repeated practices and habits, they will inevitably shape and form users. Thus, AI systems might be designed to assist humans with virtue formation; likewise, they could be misdirected to encourage certain vices. Finally, the concept of virtue in the Christian tradition is contrasted with secular notions of virtue and is used to inform limits on the role of AI in virtue formation.","PeriodicalId":53927,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith","volume":" 51","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138613582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23massmann
Alexander Massmann, Keith R. Fox
MODIFYING OUR GENES: Theology, Science and "Playing God" by Alexander Massmann and Keith R. Fox. London, UK: SCM Press, 2021. vii + 151 pages. Paperback; $21.49. ISBN: 9780334059530. *Modifying Our Genes: Theology, Science and "Playing God" is a thought-provoking exploration of the ethical, theological, and scientific implications surrounding human genome editing. Written by Alexander Massmann, a theologian, and Keith R. Fox, a scientist, this book examines the topic clearly and is comprehensible even for those without a background in genetics or bioethics. While their ethical considerations are biblically based, they also draw upon arguments in philosophy and other fields to facilitate a more inclusive debate. *Chapter 1 discusses the overall significance of genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9, and lays out key themes discussed in subsequent chapters. Developed by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna just over a decade ago, CRISPR-Cas9 greatly simplifies the process of making alterations at precise locations in DNA compared to previous methods. While this molecular tool can be used to genetically modify body cells in children or adults (somatic gene editing), these alterations are not passed on to future generations, unlike alterations to human embryos (germline gene editing), which are of greater ethical concern to Massmann and Fox. *For the benefit of the layperson, chapter 2 provides a basic primer in genetics and the CRISPR-Cas9 method. The authors note that over 10,000 different inherited human diseases are caused by a defect in a single gene and would be the most feasible targets for therapeutic genome editing. However, many human traits and disorders result from a complex interaction between multiple genes and are less -amenable to genetic intervention. Moreover, Massmann and Fox point out that environmental, lifestyle, and developmental factors work together with genes to determine human traits and diseases--we are not simply a "product" of our genes alone! They describe, in simple terms, how the Cas9 protein uses a guide RNA to precisely direct the position of a double-stranded cut in DNA, and how repair of the cut by nonhomologous end-joining leads to short deletions or insertions that usually inactivate the gene. Repair of the cut by homologous recombination is less clearly explained in this book. The authors also do not mention base editing or prime editing at all. These variations of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, reported in peer-reviewed journals by 2019, correct mutated copies of genes without making double-stranded cuts in DNA or requiring a corrective donor DNA molecule. *In chapter 3, the authors briefly summarize the successes so far with therapeutic genome editing in children or adults, especially for genetic disorders involving the blood, such as sickle cell anemia, beta thalassemia, and leukemia. For disorders involving other body tissues and organs, they note the challenge that must be overcome in delivering gene editing tool
对于这种批评，他们只能说，PGD和基因组编辑都需要胚胎选择。他们主张将PGD的使用限于医学考虑，最好是为了避免生下患有非常严重疾病的孩子。这与他们的观点(第63页)是一致的，即“一个有意义和充实的生活将会因为造成重大和持续的痛苦而变得更加困难。”在第62页，他们建议在体外受精之前选择没有有害突变的精子，以增加适合植入的健康胚胎的数量。然而，他们没有解释这种选择如何在不破坏精细胞的情况下进行，也没有提供任何参考资料。*在第4章中，Massmann和Fox考虑了体细胞或种系基因编辑在引入非医学增强方面的可能性，例如提高运动能力、记忆力和寿命。他们认为，基因增强可能会加剧弱势群体的社会不平等，导致社会参与减少，政治或经济机会减少。他们对这样一种假设提出质疑，即更强的身体和精神能力将带来更充实的生活，并重申他们对这可能导致对患有遗传疾病或残疾的人的歧视表示关切。作者还质疑父母为孩子选择增强功能是否合适。孩子会不会变得更像商品，而不是珍贵的礼物，受制于我们自己的设计或意愿?考虑到这些论点，作者建议将基因组编辑限制在医疗和治疗程序中，他们将其定义为恢复或保留器官功能的任何干预。*第五章重点介绍世界各地优生学的历史。Massmann和Fox指出，纳粹杀害了大约20万残疾人，其动机并非出于种族考虑，也不是担心后代可能会遗传基因缺陷。相反，这是出于经济上的考虑(照顾残疾人的成本和他们缺乏生产力)，以及一种强调独立和身体功能，同时边缘化依赖、软弱和脆弱的“体能主义者”心态。作者担心，影响深远的基因组修改，尤其是基因组增强，将强化我们社会中的残疾主义心态，导致反残疾偏见。*在最后一章(第六章)中，Massmann和Fox考虑了人类的尊严，这源于我们“按照上帝的形象”被创造出来，以及它对生物技术进步的影响。他们认为，人的尊严不仅仅是对个人自主权的尊重;它还包括为他人的利益而工作，照顾好自己的身体和个人健康的道德呼吁。这组作者断言，如果存在重大健康风险，即使个人已经知情同意，社会也不应允许诸如基因增强之类的技术自由销售。另一方面，他们指出，作为上帝形象的承载者，我们可以用科学“驯服破坏性的力量，在混乱威胁生命的地方恢复秩序”(第130页)。作者的结论是，当我们使用新技术来克服疾病和虚弱时，我们必须以一种尊重患者、开发这些技术的科学家和管理这些技术的护理人员的尊严的方式进行。我们还必须确保我们对提高功能水平的热情不会导致将残疾人排除在外。* Brian T. Greuel, John Brown University生物学名誉教授，Siloam Springs, AR 72761。
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Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23peterson
James C. Peterson
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Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.56315/pscf12-23bellis
PIERRE GASSENDI: Humanism, Science, and the Birth of Modern Philosophy edited by Delphine Bellis, Daniel Garber, and Carla Rita Palmerino. London, UK: Routledge, 2023. 416 pages. Hardcover; $160.00. ISBN: 9781138697454. *Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) is one of those names in the history of science whose contribution remains only vaguely understood or remembered. A French Catholic priest, philosopher, mathematician, humanist, and astronomer, Gassendi's advocacy of a theologically re-worked ancient atomic theory of matter was a significant factor in the demise of late medieval Aristotelian conceptions of informed matter. Gassendi was also highly influential in reviving ancient Epicureanism, the hedonist moral philosophy from which modern utilitarianism traces its origins. Advocating a theologically modified form of Sextus Empiricus's ancient skepticism--in which we have knowledge only of observable appearances rather than of metaphysical essences--Gassendi shaped the way modern scientific knowledge came to be understood. Gassendi was thus a key figure in the emergence of modern empiricism, which brought him into prominent conflict with Descartes. *This is a beautifully researched and presented volume by thirteen fine Gassendi scholars. The contributions are divided into three parts: Gassendi's Epicurean Project, Its Genesis and Its Sources; Gassendi the Polemist; and Gassendi's Science and Philosophy in Context. Further, for a book of niche historical interest, the writing is delightfully clear and accessible. However, for theologically interested readers of Perspectives in Science and Christian Faith, this volume has a glaring--yet also illuminating--problem. It is theologically blind. *For the academic specialist in Renaissance studies and early modern science, this volume is eminently solid. The editors and the contributors are all highly credentialed academics who are well respected in Gassendi scholarship circles. The detailed engagement with primary sources, the density of notes and bibliographies, and the scholarly rigor of all contributions are highly impressive. The specialist reader is going to have their understanding of Gassendi incrementally expanded with some interesting new details brought to light, and some existing evaluations in the literature carefully modified and improved. Even so, there are no significant new discoveries in its very carefully researched pages. The great merit of the book is not as a must read for Gassendi specialists, but as an accessible and rich guide for the nonspecialist. *The editors and contributors all seek to demonstrate how important a thinker Pierre Gassendi was. The nonspecialist reader can learn from this book's pages what a powerful influence this remarkable priest and humanist had in his own world, and how that influence remains deeply with us to this day. His influence on significant streams in early modern philosophy, mathematics, science, and theological thinking is deep and lasting. A knowledge
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