Читать книгу Arguing Science - Michael Shermer - Страница 5

PREFACE

In 2015, TheBestSchools.org website hosted an intensive Dialogue on the Nature of Science between two well-known science writers, Rupert Sheldrake and Michael Shermer. Those dialogues form the basis of this book. While the book’s editors have seen fit to rearrange some of the sequencing of the dialogue (as it appears online) and have made minor modifications in the language for the sake of clarity and readability, the dialogue published here is, in all essential matters, the same.

Drs. Sheldrake and Shermer agreed to take part in this dialogue over three consecutive months, with each month devoted to a particular topic. In the first month, May, the focus was on materialism in science. Dr. Sheldrake argued that science needs to free itself from materialist dogma; indeed, science misunderstands nature by being wedded to purely materialist explanations. Dr. Shermer opposed Dr. Sheldrake’s position, arguing that science, properly conceived, is a materialistic enterprise; for science to look beyond materialist explanations is to betray science and engage in superstition. In June, the focus was on mental action at a distance. Dr. Sheldrake defended the position that telepathy, ESP, and psychic/psi phenomena in general are real and backed up by convincing evidence; their investigation deserves to be part of science. Dr. Shermer opposed Dr. Sheldrake’s position, arguing that psychic or psi phenomena are artifacts of poor experimental procedure or outright fraud; no convincing evidence or experiments support their reality. During the third month, July, the focus was on God and science. Dr. Sheldrake put forth the notion that there is no conflict between science and the existence of God and that evidence from conscious experience renders belief in God reasonable. Dr. Shermer opposed Dr. Sheldrake’s position, arguing that science in no way supports the existence of God; in fact, science undercuts the reasonableness of belief in God.

In order to provide a suitable context for this dialogue, Drs. Sheldrake and Shermer agreed to be interviewed by The Best Schools prior to their dialogue. It is our hope that you, the reader, will enjoy this feisty and thoughtful contest of ideas as much as we have enjoyed the process of publishing them.