Volume Editorial Manifesto – No. Naturalism Varieties of Naturalism and Religious Reflection – Holmes Rolston III Creative Genesis. Escalating Naturalism and Beyond – Wesley J. Wildman Religious Naturalism. What It Can Be, and What It Need Not Be – JeeLoo Liu Chinese Qi-Naturalism and Liberal Naturalism – Charles Taliaferro Is Naturalism Too Big to Fail? An Audit of Strict and Broad Naturalism – Niels Henrik Gregersen Naturalism in the Mirror of Religion. Three Theological Options – Book Reviews Thomas Nagel. Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist and Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False (Conor Cunningham) – Loyal Rue. Nature is Enough: Religious Naturalism and the Meaning of Life (Erik J. Wielenberg) – Mohr Siebeck Philosophy, Theology and the Sciences Edited by Celia Deane-Drummond, Dirk Evers, Niels H. Gregersen, Gregory R. Peterson Please send manuscripts, editorial inquiries and book review proposals to: Prof. Dr. Dirk Evers Martin-Luther-Universität Halle Wittenberg Theologische Fakultät Franckeplatz 1 06110 Halle(Saale) / Germany E-mail: [email protected] Philosophy, Theology and the Sciences will publish invited as well as submitted articles. Submission of a paper will be held to imply that it contains original unpublished work and is not being submitted for publication elsewhere. The editors do not accept responsibility for damage or loss of papers submitted. All articles are refereed by specialists. Acceptance for publications will be given in writing. Upon acceptance, the author will transfer to the publisher the exclusive copyright for his/her work. This right to publish and sell the work expires with the termina tion of the duration of copyright stipulated by law. The author retains the right to grant another publishing company permission to reprint the work one year after the original publication. The right of publication comprises the right to reproduce the work photo-mechanically and the right to store the data in a retrieval system and to transmit it in online processing. Full Text Online Free access to the full text online is included in a subscription. We ask institutions with more than 20.000 users to obtain a price quote directly from the publisher. Contact: [email protected]. In order to set up online access for institutions /­ ​ libraries, please go to: http://ingentaconnect.com/register/institutional. In order to set up online access for private persons, please go to: http://www. ingenta connect.com/register/personal. Publisher: Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. KG, Postfach 2040, 72010 Tübingen. © 2014 Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. KG, Tübingen. The journal and all the individual articles and illustrations contained in it are protected by copyright. Any utilization beyond the narrow confines of copyright law without the publisher’s consent is punishable by law. This applies in particular to copyright, translations, microfilming and storage and processing in electronic systems. Typeset by Martin Fischer, Tübingen. Printed by Gulde-Druck, Tübingen. Printed in Germany. ISSN 2195–9773 PTSc_1_Umschlag.indd 2 13.03.14 18:23 Editorial Manifesto Editorial Manifesto 1. This journal will provide a new platform for constructive and critical inter- actions between the natural sciences in all their varieties (from physics and biology to psychology, anthropology and social science) and the fields of contemporary philosophy and theology. The editors are well aware that such an enterprise takes place in an aca- demic context shaped by a long history of antecedents as well as by pre- sent day conflicts of interpretation. Theology and the natural sciences have hardly ever existed in complete separation from each other. The history of their relation is characterized by deep tensions, but also by mutual inspira- tion and cross-fertilization. The natural sciences have shaped the world view of secular societies and have contributed to what the German sociologist Max Weber has called the “disenchantment of the World” (“Entzauberung der Welt”)1. By this he means the fundamental conviction that the world of nature is free of mysterious forces and that everything in our world can – in principle – be mastered by means of empirical studies, mathematical calcu- lation, and laws of nature. Still, religious convictions persist and provide a vital force in the life of many, challenging the secularization thesis that sup- posed religious conviction would disappear in modern societies. Since both science and religion have a deep and continuing influence on modern soci- eties, critical reflection on their mutual relationship, their differences and common interests is a crucial prerequisite for understanding both of them as well as the central cultural developments of our day. At the beginning of the 21st century, we are also witnessing ongoing spe- cialization and differentiation within the natural sciences. New disciplines are being established which transcend the traditional distinction between the sciences and the humanities. Individuals working in such fields as evolutionary theory, sociobiology, neurology, and cognitive science claim to be able to handle core topics in the human and social sciences such as 1 Weber, Max. 1985. Wissenschaft als Beruf. In Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschafts- lehre, edited by Johannes Winckelmann, 582–613. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 594. PTSc 1 (2014), 1–4 DOI 10.1628/219728314X13946985796790 ISSN 2195-9773 © 2014 Mohr Siebeck 2 Editorial Manifesto consciousness, the emotions, and societal formation and to interpret them according to the methodology of the empirical sciences. Theology as a self-reflective form of religious thought must explicate reli- gious notions in a world that is deeply influenced by scientific world views. It reflects upon religious convictions against the background of the scientific understanding of truth. Theology acts to its own detriment when it ignores the significance of the empirical sciences. Both science and theology need philosophy to perform the bridging function, lest their “dialogue” deteriorate into mere equivocation, as too frequently happens in practice. In addition, the fields of philosophy of sci- ence and philosophy of religion often present new challenges to the self- understanding of science as well as to views taken for granted within theol- ogy. Hence the three indispensable foci reflected in the title of this journal. 2. Future issues of this journal will identify relevant areas of common research and reflection. We do not presuppose any particular answer or scenario, either of consonance or of conflict, between science, philosophy and theol- ogy. What we are indeed convinced of, however, is the indispensability of ongoing dialogue. As they seek to defend their methods and conclusions, scientists, philosophers, and theologians are obliged to engage in rational discourse and the quest for the best possible arguments. All three disciplines share the common interest to make sense of reality from within our finite, human perspective. “We all must start in the middle,”2 whether one starts in the laboratory, or with rational intuitions and phenomenology, or categories of revelation and religious experience. We are convinced that the dialogue between the sciences, philosophy, and theology does not take place in a static, timeless realm of absolute truth. Instead, it involves a common striving towards shared meaning and under- standing. Truth or truths become relevant as they connect with particular questions, particular practices, and particular interests, including, for exam- ple, the technological developments of scientific ideas and the liturgical and practical expressions of religious belief. Symbolic systems in science, just as in philosophy and theology, do not have only referential but also explana- 2 Quine, Willard van Orman. 1969. Word and Object. 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 4. Cf. Schleiermacher, Friedrich D. E. 2002. KGA II/10-1: Vorlesungen über die Dialektik, edited by Andreas Arndt. Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, 186: „Das Anfangen aus der Mitte ist unvermeidlich.” Editorial Manifesto 3 tory and interpretative functions. Signs always mean something to someone in a certain context. Thus, to reflect philosophically on the cultural and his- torical conditions of both science and theology is a necessary component in understanding the semantics of both science and religion. 3. The main task of this journal is therefore to provide a common platform for dialogue according to rigorous academic standards, yet one that remains open and attentive to the full range of types of scientific and theological dis- course. The Journal Philosophy, Theology and the Sciences (PTSc) will pro- vide a forum for asking and analyzing meta-scientific questions (sometimes referred to as “the big questions”) that arise at the intersection of these three disciplines, questions for which there is often no space in the everyday work of scholarly research. Articles will bring together real science and real theol- ogy, not lazy stereotypes or straw-man constructs that are invented merely to be knocked down by simplistic arguments. Authors will avail themselves of the best available philosophy to stimulate and in order to mediate the dialogue and to offer critical perspectives on scientific and theological con- tributions. We therefore invite all scholars, religious or non-religious, to participate in the endeavor. This forum invites intellectual exploration and risk-taking, controlled by academic rigor and the force of the better argument. It pro- vides the rare opportunity