Description
Book SynopsisTo open a newspaper or turn on the television it would appear that science and religion are polar opposites - mutually exclusive bedfellows competing for hearts and minds. There is little indication of the rich interaction between religion and science throughout history, much of which continues today. From ancient to modern times, mathematicians have played a key role in this interaction. This is a book on the relationship between mathematics and religious beliefs. It aims to show that, throughout scientific history, mathematics has been used to make sense of the ''big'' questions of life, and that religious beliefs sometimes drove mathematicians to mathematics to help them make sense of the world. Containing contributions from a wide array of scholars in the fields of philosophy, history of science and history of mathematics, this book shows that the intersection between mathematics and theism is rich in both culture and character. Chapters cover a fascinating range of topics including the Sect of the Pythagoreans, Newton''s views on the apocalypse, Charles Dodgson''s Anglican faith and Gödel''s proof of the existence of God.
Trade ReviewPerhaps this is the most valuable contribution of Mathematicians and their Gods as a whole: it discusses ideas which must often appear strange to modern readers, and in explaining their context and influence helps us to understand how they captured the imaginations of our mathematical predecessors. This book will appeal to all those with an interest in mathematical history, regardless of their own religious views. * Paul Taylor, Mathematics Today *
Lawrence and McCartney's volume captures the various ways in which mathematics and religion have represented commensurable, even interconnected, systems of knowledge and belief. ... The collection will serve these readers well and could also benefit historians of science or theology unfamiliar with the ground covered in these essays. * Laura Kotevska, British Journal for the History of Science *
Lawrence and McCartney have done an admirable job in assembling a book of remarkable scholarship on a topic which challenges readers working in science or technology. * Giovanni Pistone, ESSSAT News & Reviews *
fascinating from cover to cover * Michael N. Fried, Mathematical Thinking and Learning *
Table of Contents1. Introduction ; 2. The Pythagoreans: Number and Numerology ; 3. Divine light ; 4. Kepler and his Trinitarian Cosmology ; 5. The Lull before the storm: combinatorics in the Renaissance ; 6. Mystical Arithmetic in the Renaissance: From Biblical Hermeneutics to a Philosophical Tool ; 7. Newton, God, and the mathematics of the Two Books ; 8. Maria Gaetana Agnesi, mathematician of God ; 9. Capital G for Geometry: Masonic lore and the history of geometry ; 10. Charles Dodgeson's Work for God ; 11. P. G. Tait, Balfour Stewart and The Unseen Universe ; 12. Faith and Flatland ; 13. Godel's "proof" for the existence of God
