History

[elanya]

Why is history important, a little example.

So last week in my evolutionary Anth class, we were talking about the creationism versus science debate in class. My proff is Hindu, and one of the things she asked is why we have this big antagonism between faith and science. She says that it doesn't really exist for every culture - for example no one really cares about what population growth means for their belief in reincarnation. no one is siting around thinking 'but where do the *new* souls come from!' They just don't care. It doesn't bother them.

Now, I didn't think of it at the time, but of course there really is a very obvious direct answer. And of course, if all comes back to history! And like so many other things that are important to us today, it comes back to the enlightenment. The French enlightenment philosophers (Voltaire, I'm looking at you) specifically contrasted reason and 'scientific' thinking versus the teachings of the church. I think there are reasons why that has continued to be an active... (I can't think of the right word. Not really 'debate' or antagonism, but something in between :p) issue in the states especially as opposed to elsewhere, but I have to go walk Jola.

Comments

[forthright.livejournal.com]

Seriously, in both History of Archaeology and Evolutionary Anthropology, I would spend about a full class period discussing the lack of conflict between faith and science in Reformation anthropology, another discussing the influence of Enlightenment evolutionism on pre-Darwinian evolution, and another talking about how Darwinian evolutionism basically turned the Enlightenment on its head (it keeps the separation between faith and science, loses all that Frenchy equality/rationality stuff).

But I don't teach those classes any more. Suckers!!!

Oh wait, I kind of liked those courses.

[elanya.livejournal.com]

I would say that Darwinian evolution does that for *scientists* but clearly it doesn't satisfy the religious elements ;)

The rest I agree with, though!