The Re‐discovery of Contemplation Through Science

Abstract

Some of the early‐modern changes in the social framing of science, while often believed to be essential, are shown to be contingent. They contribute to the flawed public narrative around science today, and especially to the misconceptions around science and religion. Four are examined in detail, each of which contributes to the demise of the contemplative stance that science both requires and offers. They are: (1) a turn from an immersed subject to the pretense of a pure objectivity, (2) a turn from imagination as a legitimate pathway to knowledge, (3) a turn from shared and participative science to a restricted professionalism, and (4) an overprosaic reading of the metaphor of the “Book of Nature.” All four, but especially the imperative to consider reading nature as poetry, and a deeper examination of the entanglements between poetry and theoretical science, draw unavoidably on theological ideas, and contribute to a developing “theology of science.”

Rowan Williams on Attention and Memory in the Spiritual Life

“…Many of the benefits of spiritual practices seem to be mediated through how they shape our attention. The point that McLeish (2021) makes is that, though science often takes a path that seems to be the opposite of contemplation, it actually needs the imaginative open‐mindedness of the contemplative mindset.…”

What Is Natural Theology? (And Should We Dispense With It?)

“…McLeish (2019), for example, has powerfully argued for the creative and affective dimensions of contemporary scientific practice, suggesting that it has much closer affinities to poetry and music that we typically imagine (cf. McLeish 2021, McGrath, 41–50 and passim ). This suggests that it is possible to misconstrue scientific practices, and with the same kind of bias that has given rise to the construction of “established” natural theology, as a form of bloodless analysis and rationalization.…”

Naturalism and Church Leaders on Science and Religion

“…ECLAS's modus operandi is to develop a richer narrative around science as a divine gift and vocation to the church, rather than a threat to belief, and works outward from senior leadership (bishops and equivalent). Also, the materials for Tom McLeish's Boyle Lecture 2021 published in the previous issue of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science (McLeish 2021) stemmed from the ECLAS project.…”