Religion & Science Quiz #1

What is a metanarrative?

story that explains all other stories. Worldview answers for big questions about life, universe everything.

What is the difference between mythos and logos?

Mythos: explaining via story, don't confuse with myth or mythology

Logos: explaining via logic, reason, observation. Natural causes rather than supernatural stories

What is the difference between the mythological genre of writing and the historical genre?

Mythological genre: takes long to develop, more irrelevant detail, distinct literary genre

Historical genre: more irrelevant details (constrained by actual events), distinct literary genre

In a myth, what is the relation between the protagonist and the antagonist?

One-dimensional, opposite ends of the spectrum, nothing in common with each other besides conflict

What is scientism?

Idea that science is the only source of knowledge or information. Anything that science can't discover, we can't know about/ exist.

In ancient Greek cosmology, what was the fifth element?

Quintessence, ether

How did Plato move the focus of philosophy away from empirical observation?

Focus was on "how then shall I live", important thing was human being "how should we live our lives in light of what we discover"

Who is Tertullian and what did he say (or write) that leads people to think he accepted fideism (blind faith)?

Tertullian: early Christian, suggested secular learning & religious thoughts are completely distinct. Criticized Greek philosophy from the inside.

- What is Athens to do with Jerusalem?

- I believe it because it's absurd

What is the connection between Plato and Augustine? Between Aristotle and Aquinas?

Augustine: Plato + Christianity

Aquinas: Aristotle + Christianity

What were the Paris condemnations in the 13th century about?

Only in Paris (University of Paris), restricted teachings of Aristotle's metaphysical and scientific works. Still taught under the table.

What does "Science is the handmaiden to theology" mean? How did ancient Christianity view the science of the day?

- Science is good in so far as it can serve the purposes of theology

- Science had a low priority, there was extrinsic value (theology had intrinsic value), no other cultural force in ancient world put as high a stake in proto science as Christianity

What are the two motives at the beginning of the Scientific Revolution and who is a representative of each?

- Controlling Nature (Francis Bacon)

- Worship (Johannes Kepler and Athanasius Kircher)

What are the details about the pope supposedly excommunicating Halley's Comet in 1456?

o During the siege of Belgrade by the Turks

o Pope asked people to pray for the siege

o Siege and comet seemed to be connected in hindsight

o Not plausible, he didn't excommunicate (kick out of catholic church)

o Showed story shows how open religious people are to accepting falsehoods, to the point of absurdity

What are the details about the church supposedly banning the number zero?

o There was some economical concerns about Arabic numerals

o Merchants used abacuses to calculate prices, and they used Roman numerals

o Philosophical, not religious, debate about whether the concept of nothing even made sense

o Shows how closed religious people are to accepting truths, to the point of absurdity

What is the flat earth myth?

o From ancient Greece to the present, the almost universal view in Western civilization is that the earth is round

o Columbus was trying to find an alternate passage to the East Indies, not trying to prove earth was round.

o There were some flat earthers in late antiquity (four), but they were insignificant and ignored, such as Cosmas Indicopleustes

o People think now that people back then thought the earth was flat

What are some of the elements of Ptolemaic cosmology?

o Spherical earth

o Earth at the center

o Concentric spheres

o Space filled with quintessence (no empty space)

What is the difference between geocentrism, heliocentrism, and anthropocentrism?

o Geocentricism: earth is at the center of the universe

o Heliocentrism: sun is at the center of the universe

o Anthropocentrism: people are at the metaphorical center

Does geocentrism imply anthropocentrism?

Reasonable, but not the case because closer you are to the center, the more down you are (less significant/ important you are)

What are antipodes and how are they relevant to the shape of the Earth?

o Antipodes: land and people who live on the opposite side of the earth, raised an issue because spiritual status was unknown (raised questions about original sign/ Christ as salvation)

o People denies antipodes, denied round earth. Unknown land/ people.

What are globus crucigers and how are they relevant to the shape of the Earth?

o Global crucigers: sphere with cross on top, symbolizing the earth & Christ's dominion over it

o Sphere represents round earth

What does "saving the appearances mean? What is fictionalism?

o Models meant to explain things without physical accounts, ideas that make sense of things without being physically true

o Fictionalism: math (imaginary numbers), science (ideal gases)

What is the big fish in a small pond myth?

o What was the ratio of the earth's size to the universe's in Ptolemaic cosmology?

~70%

o What is the difference between an infinite universe and an enormous but finite universe?

- Infinite universe has no absolute standard of reference

- Smallness may be felt more vividly in a large but finite universe