Oso Search Results

Oxford Scholarship Online You are looking at 1-9 of 9 items for: keywords : teleonomy relstud relhin Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Jonathan B. Edelmann Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.001.0001 Item type: book Western intellectual history has benefited from a rich and sophisticated conversation between theology and science, leaving us with centuries of scientific and theological literature on the subjects. Yet the Hindu traditions are virtually unused in responding to the challenging questions raised in the science and religion dialogue. This book replies to the sciences by drawing from an important Hindu text called the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, as well as its commentaries and philosophical disciplines such as Sāṁkhya-yoga. One of the greatest challenges facing Hindu traditions since the nineteenth century is their own self-understanding in light of science and technology. Hoping to establish the conceptual foundations for a mutually beneficial dialogue between the Hindu theologies and the Western sciences, this book faces that challenge directly. Since so much of the Hinduism–science discussion is tangled in misconstrual, this book clarifies fundamental issues in each tradition, for example the definition of consciousness, the means of generating knowledge, and the goal of knowledge itself. It argues that although Darwinian theory seems to entail a materialistic view of consciousness, the Bhāgavata’s views provide an alternative framework for thinking about Darwinian theory. Furthermore, it argues that objectivity is a hallmark of modern science, and this is an intellectual virtue shared by the Bhāgavata. Lastly, it critiques the view that science and religion have different objects of knowledge (that is, the natural world vs. God), arguing that many Western scientists and theologians have found science helpful in thinking about God in ways similar to that of the Bhāgavata. Page 1 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: null; date: 25 February 2017 Introduction Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0001 Item type: chapter Explains the rationale and need for a dialogue between Hinduism and science, while clarifying the specific texts and traditions that will be involved here, as well as the methodology. In addition, it addresses the potential benefits and difficulties involved in bringing a Hindu theological tradition into conversation with contemporary science, as well as what the term Hindu theology might mean in today’s context given its ancient and medieval meanings such as mantavya and brahma-jijñāsā. It explains the state of the art in science and religion, arguing for the power of the ‘complexity theory’, and establishes and defines ‘worldview’ as the best lens through which to examine this dialogue. Setting the Scene Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0002 Item type: chapter Introduces the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and its commentarial tradition as seen within the context of traditional Indian thought and modern Indological studies, highlighting the specific theological and historical themes that are most relevant to a dialogue with the sciences. Furthermore, it introduces the relevant historical and theological themes present within the Western history of science since the time of Francis Bacon to the present, highlighting the specific themes that will later be addressed from a Hindu theological perspective. Page 2 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: null; date: 25 February 2017 Ontology of Body, Mind, and Consciousness Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0003 Item type: chapter Seeks to accomplish three ends: (i) outline the important features of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s views on the relationship between the body, mind, and consciousness, showing the ways that these three terms are distinguished and related in the text; (ii) examine the two most important arguments from Darwinian theory and neuroscience for a physicalistic view of consciousness, i.e. that the mind/consciousness is dependent for its existence on the body/brain, and shows how and why this physicalistic view is in some ways consistent with Judeo-Christian theologies from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, St Aquinas and contemporary figures such as Arthur Peacocke and Keith Ward; (iii) show the reasons why the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s theory of consciousness is immune to the arguments from (ii), thus providing an alternative to physicalism. Towards a Bhāgavata Theory of Knowledge Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0004 Item type: chapter Examines the primary epistemological approach in the Indian tradition, i.e. the use of pramāṇa or instruments of knowledge, showing how the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and the commentators use it when talking about Vaishnava theology. It also draws attention to the primary conflict with scientific epistemologies, namely the manner in which Vaishnava theology places emphasis on the testimony of scripture, whereas science places it upon sense perception and reason, and it seeks to establish the groundwork for a more nuanced perspective on the relationship between the instruments of knowledge to come in Chapters 5–6. Page 3 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: null; date: 25 February 2017 The Study of Nature as Vaishnava-Yoga Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0005 Item type: chapter Explains how and why the study of the natural world is important within the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s theology and practice, arguing that the text sees the development of an analytic and quantitative understanding of the natural world as necessary to have the concentration to meditate on God himself. It shows how the Bhāgavata’s approach relates with other Indian traditions such as Sāṁkhya-yoga, and the specific ways it appropriates these traditions within its devotionally oriented theology. It also sets the groundwork for thinking creatively about contemporary Western science– religion issues to come in Chapters 5–6. Seeing Truth, Hearing Truth Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0006 Item type: chapter Returning to the conflict (discussed in Chapter 3) between the epistemologies of this Hindu theology and modern science, this chapter examines the important and often overlooked role that testimony has in the practice of science. It seeks a comparative understanding of the complex roles that testimony has in each tradition, showing the ways they are similar and different, as well as demonstrating the conceptual similarities between ‘objectivity’ in the sciences and in Hindu theology. Furthermore, it examines hermeneutical traditions inherent within Vaishnava history for reinterpreting the Bhāgavata in faithful and reasonable ways, arguing that these traditions must be drawn from when reconstructing Hindu thought after its encounter with the Western sciences. Page 4 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: null; date: 25 February 2017 Moving from Nature to God Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0007 Item type: chapter Also returning to the conflict (discussed in 3) between the epistemologies of this Hindu theology and modern science, this chapter examines important figures in Western modern and contemporary science who have seen scientific theory and scientific practice as helpful in illuminating the divine. It compares these thinkers with the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s model (discussed in Chapter 4) for relating scientific and religious theory and practice, arguing there are noteworthy similarities. Taking up the specific issue of suffering in the process of biological evolution, it shows how one might take up an approach wherein the deliverances of science and the Hindu tradition are used to address important philosophical issues. Conclusion Jonathan B. Edelmann in Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199641543 eISBN: 9780191732232 acprof:oso/9780199641543.003.0008 Item type: chapter Page 5 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: null; date: 25 February 2017