MT7 - Science V Religion V Ideology

Question 1

Rationalisation +C

Answer 1

Weber

world used to be enchanted garden dominated by catholic worldview but Enlightenment (result of the protestant reformation) gave scientific interpretations of the world and this replaced religion as this rationalisation caused the disenchantment of the world

C: Weber ignores the extent of religiosity that remains in the 21st century

Question 2

Comte

Answer 2

Society has passed through 3 stages of development – theological, metaphysical and positive – brought about by Ind Rev.
In the theological stage, religion dominated, but science grew through the metaphysical and positive stages to eventually replace religion in the current positive stage because it’s rooted in facts with evidence, while religion is based on belief in holy texts.

Question 3

Feminists

Answer 3

Criticise Comte

sci is not pure knowledge, it serves the interest of men, e.g. bio difference between men and women are not a scientific fact, they’re a social construct providing justification for male domination

Question 4

Postmodernists

Answer 4

science as just one of many metanarratives, none of which are more valid than the rest.

Lyotard - science is just another metanarrative that falsely claims to find the truth for the betterment of society, when in reality, it is just another discourse (way of thinking) that is used to dominate people.

In postmodernity people have started to lose faith in science as they have become sceptical of all metanarratives - nuclear weapons

Question 5

Criticism of postmodernists

Answer 5

Lyotard ignores the extent to which people still accept other metanarratives such as religion and nationalism. Also, he seems unaware of the fact that Postmodernist theory itself is a metanarrative as it claims to be the true view of the world.

Question 6

Relativism

Answer 6

science is just one of many beliefs, all of which are equally valid.

Gould argues that science and religion are two separate realms or non-overlapping magisteria

Sci provides us with factual knowledge while religion provides moral guidelines. Therefore, they both have an equally valid, but separate role to play.

Question 7

Dawkins

Answer 7

Criticises Relativists i.e. Gould

religious beliefs are a delusion completely at odds with scientific knowledge as the belief in God doesn’t stand up to scientific scrutiny which involves falsifying concepts

Question 8

Marxists

Answer 8

Both sci and rel serve capitalism thus are important

Religion cant be replaced because it is part of r.c ideology that creates FCC …. Opium

Science is driven by needs of capitalism e.g. technological developments in industry for profit therefore sci and rel coexist because they both serve religion

Question 9

Criticism of Marxists

Answer 9

Malowski

Rel promotes social solidarity in response of psych needs of individuals during stress as rel provides a sense of control and diminishes anxiety by unifying society

Question 10

Cultural transition +C

Answer 10

Religion is still important for e/m

refers to the ways in which religion can be used to help recent migrants ease into a new culture - religion does this by providing support and a sense of community.

Example - Pryce’s study of Caribbean immigrants showed how Penecostalism supported them when they first arrived in Bristol.

C: as the second and third generation migrants become integrated into the new culture, their level of religiosity declines.

Question 11

Popper

Answer 11

Science is an open belief system where every theory is open to scrutiny as science is based on falsification rather than sacred or absolute truth like religion

Example: Sun - this willingness to discard falsfied knowledge increases understanding of the world and ensure knowledge is cumulative (builds on the achievement of scientists)

Question 12

Kuhn

Answer 12

Criticises Popper

science rejects challenge as scientists work within a paradigm (shared assumptions) so they ignore anything that challenges this paradigm

Those who engage in normal science (working in paradigm) are rewarded thus discard anything that challenges

e.g. it took 50 years for Newton’s theories to be accepted and Darwin was ridiculed in the press for his theory

Question 13

Polanyi

Answer 13

Both religion and science are a closed belief system because they reject challenge through the denial of other legitimate explanations

This is seen in the case of Dr Velikovsky who published a new theory on the origins of the earth in opposition to accepted assumptions - scientists rejected without reading book

if science was an open belief system - scientists would test Velikovsky’s ideas