From Information to Insight E-Book

Valerie Miké

• Herausgeber: Crossroad Publishing
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

This volume is part of the Book Program, a partnership of the Ethics of Evidence Foundation and Herder & Herder. Forthcoming titles include: Chance and Evidence: A Primer of Probability and Statistics, by Valerie Miké, and People’s Capitalism in the United States: A European Observer’s 1953 Report amid the Unexpected Events of the Twentieth Century, by John Madl Miké, edited by Valerie Miké.

Leseprobe

FROM INFORMATION TO INSIGHT

A Companion to

A Christian Cosmology,

dedicated to the honor of

Pope St. John Paul II

in the year 2020,

the centenary of his birth

A CHRISTIAN COSMOLOGY

by

Richard J. Pendergast, SJ

Edited by

Valerie Miké

Dates on Volumes 1–5 indicate year of completion of the book manuscript.

Volume 1.THE COSMIC HIERARCHY:

God’s Plan for the Evolution of the Universe(2012)

Introduction to a Christian cosmology, an integration of modern science and divine revelation, with the aim of achieving a coherent view of the universe. The focus here is on the key scientific issues.

Volume 2.THE COSMIC HIERARCHY:

The Universe and Its Many Irreducible Levels(2007)

A Christian cosmology, the integration of modern science and divine revelation. Analysis of scientific issues in the full context of insights offered by philosophy and theology.

Volume 3.A VISION FOR OUR TIMES:

In the Sadness of the Modern World(1988)

Response to the need for a cosmology that incorporates modern science into a religious view of the world and offers meaning. Use is made of new concepts of physics (quantum mechanics) and philosophy (process thought).

Volume 4.THE LIVING UNIVERSE:

An Organic Theory of Mind and Matter(1990)

An interpretation of quantum mechanics with the synthesis of Aristotelian and Whiteheadian concepts results in a process cosmology. The relationship of the cosmos to the transcendent reality of God.

Volume 5.CREATION, EVIL, AND THE TRINITY:

A Christian Process Theology(1990)

Integration of the new cosmol ogy into a wider theological synthesis shows Christian revelation on this process basis to illuminate the fundamental nature of reality in a fresh way.

Volume 6.THE MASS ON THE WORLD:

A Modern Theory of Transubstantiation(2008)

Reprint in three languages (English, German, and Spanish) of the author’s study concerning the teaching of the Catholic Church on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

VALERIE MIKÉ

A collaboration with The Ethics of Evidence Foundation, Inc.

A Herder & Herder Book

The Crossroad Publishing Company

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Copyright © 2024 The Ethics of Evidence Foundation, Inc.,

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Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6: Reproduced by permission of Cengage Learning Inc.,

www.cengage.com/permissions.

For reprinting Sir Ronald A. Fisher, “Science and Christianity: Faith Is Not Credulity,” permission has been requested from the University of Adelaide.

Cover image: James Webb Telescope image of the protostar L1527 within the Taurus region

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN tradepaper 9780824571009

ISBN cloth 9780824598235

ISBN ePub 9780824598242

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In memory of

Allan Birnbaum

(1923–1976),

Mathematical Statistician and Philosopher of Science,

whose vital inspiration and support

of the development of my professional life

would lead to the concept of an

ETHICS OF EVIDENCE

and its expression in a foundation.

Contents

Preface: The Editor’s Voice

PART ONE: A PERSONAL STORY

Chapter 1. From Mathematics to Medicine and a Foundation

• Bell Labs and NYU

• At Home in Medicine

• A Special Mandate: Lest All Be Lost for Posterity

• The Ethics of Evidence Foundation

• Looking Ahead

Chapter 2. The Ethics of Evidence: Seeking the Truth

• The Emergence of a Perspective

• The Mission of Richard J. Pendergast, SJ

• Creation and Evolution

• Recalling Sir Ronald A. Fisher

• The Search for Meaning

Appendix: Science and Christianity: Faith Is Not Credulityby Sir Ronald A. Fisher

PART TWO: A SELECTION OF WRITINGS

Chapter 3. The Ethics of Evidence: A Call for Synthesis

Chapter 4. Probability: History, Interpretation, and Application

Chapter 5. Statistics: History, Interpretation, and Application

Chapter 6. Blaise Pascal

Chapter 7. Update on Intelligent Design

Epilogue: Beauty and the Two Books of God

Index of Names

About the Author

About the Publisher

PREFACE

The Editor’s Voice

Dr. Gwendolin Herder, publisher of A Christian Cosmology, suggested that I prepare this companion book for the six-volume Pendergast series. In the course of our conversations during the past three years, she learned of my own work in related areas that she thought would be helpful in presenting our material in historical perspective.

I have been a member of the scientific community for over six decades, getting my start at an institution that played a key part in the genesis of the Age of Information. After receiving my doctorate in mathematics, I went on to participate in the introduction of statistical techniques in medicine. My activities included teaching, consulting, collaboration with medical investigators, and the building of a department, work that involved incorporation of evolving computer technology and extensive fundraising for the support of my organization.

I studied ethics and the philosophy of science. My research concerning ethical issues of uncertainty in biomedical science and technology led to the concept of an “ethics of evidence,” a multidisciplinary approach that addresses both scientific and existential uncertainty. There will always be scientific uncertainty, integral to the scientific method, and there is existential uncertainty, because the question of ultimate meaning is beyond the scope of science.

For decades I taught medical students and served on U.S. government advisory committees. I was asked to be a consultant for ESTE, a new encyclopedia for science, technology, and ethics. I contributed a series of ten articles, presenting the enigma of chance in the framework of the Ethics of Evidence and the context of the history of science. My theme has always been the same: sharing what I know, to offer insight into information.

In 2015, I established the Ethics of Evidence Foundation, with divisions for medicine, social justice, physics, and cosmology, and the mission to support the search for meaning in the Age of Information. I included cosmology to cover the work of the Jesuit scholar Richard J. Pendergast (1927–2012) concerning faith and science.

The Bible, eternal legacy of humankind, needs to be read in the light of what has been revealed about the world by science. The helio centric theory of Copernicus, just turning five hundred, was a challenge, because it is so contrary to human experience. We are today facing a more significant development, the theory of evolution, which involves the origin of the human race.

Richard J. Pendergast devoted his life to the integration of modern science and divine revelation; that is why he became a Jesuit. His aim was to update the Christian synthesis of St. Thomas Aquinas, based on the philosophy of Aristotle and a static worldview, to reflect evolution. Combining notions from science, philosophy, and theology, he would weave a coherent picture of what we know about reality. He sees a living universe, reality as dynamic process, and evolution with purpose in the mystery of love. His ideas appeared in peer-reviewed professional journals, but it was his deepest desire to reach a general audience, especially young people, and that is the aim of our series.

This means interaction with our popular culture, with its oversimplified view of science. The ignoring of transcendental values may lead to the mistaken notion that science and religion are unrelated and that evolution must be a random process.

To clarify this serious issue is the reason for my book. In Part One, I first give a brief account of my personal story. Then in chapter 2 I introduce Richard Pendergast in the context of the Ethics of Evidence, freeing his work from the distractions of popular culture. I provide additional discussion in the chapters of Part Two.

I was planning this volume when I learned that Sir Ronald A. Fisher, founder of modern statistics and genetics and, in my judgment, the greatest scientist of the twentieth century, was caught in the cancel wave sweeping our culture. A response to the charges against him has been published by the trustees of the Fisher Memorial Trust in a careful and thoughtful analysis of his writings. I can add further important information, and do so in chapter 2. It is especially rele vant that Fisher, creator of the neo-Darwinian synthesis, was a lifetime believer.

For over two hundred years, in times of crisis and turmoil, the publishing house of Herder has been providing a platform for strong, independent voices to speak to the issues of their day. I am pleased to add my voice to urge the resolution of this critical problem.

Valerie Miké, President

The Ethics of Evidence Foundation

August 28, 2023