BC Philosopher On Science And Faith

Patrick H. Byrne, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Boston College, will give a lecture next Wednesday, February 18, at the Weston Observatory on “Why Do People Think Science and Faith Are Incompatible?” In an interview, Dr. Byrne explained that the official position of the Catholic Church has always been that science and faith are compatible, citing Church doctors St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

“My basic thesis is that both religious language and scientific language require us to go beyond what we see to transcendent realities that we do not see,"

Dr. Byrne explained. “True, science starts with observations, but it goes beyond, to infer from the evidence a knowledge of forces and realities that we cannot directly see. Take, for example, gravity. We can’t see it, but we’re certain it exists. Or evolution. I don’t have any question but that this is a good and accurate explanation, but no one can see it – it takes too long. So the idea that science is about what we can see and religion about what we can’t see is a misunderstanding that causes further alienation.” Link (here)