Thesis
When two worldviews meet
- Alternative title:
- a dialogue between the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and contemporary biological theory
- Abstract:
-
Over the past thirty years, academic dialogues on the relationships between the sciences and religions have flourished, albeit primarily within Judeo-Christian historical, theological and philosophical contexts. Can a Hindu tradition be brought into this dialogue? The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the most well-known sacred texts of India, and biology, Darwinism in particular, has become one of the most spirited areas of the science and religion dialogue in academia, as well as in the popular media. This thesis examines the possibility, scope and foundational topics involved in a dialogue between Vaiṣṇava-Hindu theology as found in the Bhāgavata, and the theoretical, philosophical and theological issues surrounding contemporary biology.
To examine the possibility and scope of a Bhāgavata-science dialogue, I focus on the theological, ontological, epistemological and teleological presuppositions that each tradition bring to the study of nature, outlining the similarities and differences in their approaches. I establish the grounds for further discussion through a comparative analysis of terms such as "consciousness," "knowledge" and "goal of knowledge"; as they appear in the Bhāgavata and noteworthy Darwinian texts.
My argument is that although prima facie the two traditions appear different in their philosophical, scientific and theological approaches, there are a number of areas of common interest and parallels, especially in their epistemologies and teleologies. In the case of genuine differences, such as their views on the ontology of consciousness, I demonstrate the possibility of reconciliation. Clarifying the conceptual differences, establishing parallels and demonstrating areas of common interests opens the possibility and widens the scope for further dialogue.
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Authors
Contributors
- Division:
- HUMS
- Department:
- Theology Faculty
- Sub department:
- Theology and Religion Faculty
- Role:
- Supervisor
- Division:
- HUMS
- Department:
- Theology Faculty
- Sub department:
- Theology and Religion Faculty
- Role:
- Supervisor
- Publication date:
- 2008
- Type of award:
- DPhil
- Level of award:
- Doctoral
- Awarding institution:
- University of Oxford
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Subjects:
- UUID:
-
uuid:d5e04b73-8b28-4950-b1bc-10416ea04504
- Local pid:
-
ora:2533
- Deposit date:
-
2009-01-23
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Edelmann, J
- Copyright date:
- 2008
- Notes:
- N.B. Only the front matter and section 0.1 of this thesis are currently available in ORA.
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