Frans de Waal for sanity in science & religion debates...

May be Frans de Waal also attended Jon Stewart's rally to restore sanity. He is definitely urging to tone-down some of the rhetoric in science-religion debates. He is responding to the reaction generated by an article he wrote a few weeks ago, Morals without God?. Whatever one's position regarding God & religion, he is interested in engaging with questions that are intellectually interesting. In general, we hope we are doing the same on this blog. Here is de Waal:

To have a productive debate, religion needs to recognize the power of the scientific method and the truths it has revealed, but its opponents need to recognize that one cannot simply dismiss a social phenomenon found in every major society. If humans are inherently religious, or at least show rituals related to the supernatural, there is a big question to be answered. The issue is not whether or not God exists — which I find to be a monumentally uninteresting question defined, as it is, by the narrow parameters of monotheism — but why humans universally feel the need for supernatural entities. Is this just to stay socially connected or does it also underpin morality? And if so, what will happen to morality in its absence?

Just raising such an obvious issue has become controversial in an atmosphere in which public forums seem to consist of pro-science partisans or pro-religion partisans, and nothing in between. How did we arrive at this level of polarization, this small-mindedness, as if we are taking part in the Oxford Debating Society, where all that matters is winning or losing? It is unfortunate when, in discussing how to lead our lives and why to be good — very personal questions — we end up with a shouting match. There are in fact no answers to these questions, only approximations, and while science may be an excellent source of information it is simply not designed to offer any inspiration in this regard.

The last part is almost another way of saying Gould's Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA). Yes, this approach also runs into problem as groups may define boundaries in a different way. In fact, for many, de Waal's own work on the origins of morality may be overstepping the boundaries. But I think there can be a civil discussion about boundaries themselves - especially when it comes to the questions of origins (as we run into those frequently when dealing with science & religion). Perhaps in this context, NOMA can serve as a good initial point to start such conversations.

Here is de Waal again:

What I would love to see is a debate among moderates. Perhaps it is an illusion that this can be achieved on the Internet, given how it magnifies disagreements, but I do think that most people will be open to a debate that respects both the beliefs held by many and the triumphs of science. There is no obligation for non-religious people to hate religion, and many believers are open to interrogating their own convictions. If the radicals on both ends are unable to talk with each other, this should not keep the rest of us from doing so.

Yes we can (oh - sorry, this is from 2008). But yes, Frans, we are definitely with you on this.

Read the full article here.