Faith and Reason

Submitted by Lactantius Jr (United Kingdom), Jul 25, 2007 at 07:24

"When Conservatives Argue About Islam" has prompted a lively discussion about "faith and reason," which I have followed with interest. Consequently, Jeff Jacoby's op ed "A teacher with faith and reason" in yesterday's Boston Globe at http://tinyurl.com/3a3au2 caught my eye.

Mr Jacoby wrote very perceptively, concluding by saying, "To be sure, religious dogma can be a blindfold, blocking truths from those who refuse to see them. Scientific dogma can have the same effect. Neither faith nor reason can answer every question. As (Isaac) Newton knew, the surer path to wisdom is the one that has room for both." Mr Jacoby's conclusion comports very well with the dictum of Nobel prize-winning physicist Sir William Henry Bragg. "Religion and science are opposed...............but only in the same sense as that in which my thumb and forefinger are opposed, and between the two, one can grasp everything." Sir William shared the Nobel prize for Physics in 1915, with his son William Lawrence Bragg, and besides being the only father and son to have won a Nobel prize, William Lawrence, at the age of 25, was, and remains, the youngest ever Nobel laureate.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".