Peter Harrison provides a new account of the religious foundations of scientific knowledge. He shows how the new approaches to the study of nature that emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were directly informed by theological discussions about the Fall of Man and the extent to which the mind and the senses had been damaged by that primeval event. Scientific methods, he suggests, were originally devised as techniques for ameliorating the cognitive damage wrought by human sin. At its inception, modern science was conceptualized as a means of recapturing the knowledge of nature that Adam had once possessed. Contrary to a widespread view which sees science emerging in conflict with religion, Harrison argues that theological considerations were of vital importance in the framing of the new scientific method.

This book sets out a new agenda for science-theology interactions and offers examples of what that agenda might look like when implemented. It explores, in innovative ways, what follows for science-theology discussions from recent developments in the history of science. The contributions take seriously the historically conditioned nature of the categories ‘science’ and ‘religion’ and consider the ways in which these categories are reinforced in the public sphere. Reflecting on the balance of power between theology and the sciences, the authors demonstrate a commitment to moving beyond traditional models of one-sided dialogue and seek to give theology a more active role in determining the interdisciplinary agenda.

This book sets out a new agenda for science-theology interactions and offers examples of what that agenda might look like when implemented. It explores, in innovative ways, what follows for science-theology discussions from recent developments in the history of science. The contributions take seriously the historically conditioned nature of the categories 'science' and 'religion' and consider the ways in which these categories are reinforced in the public sphere. Reflecting on the balance of power between theology and the sciences, the authors demonstrate a commitment to moving beyond traditional models of one-sided dialogue and seek to give theology a more active role in determining the interdisciplinary agenda.

It is increasingly clear that histories of secularization are not simply dispassionate descriptions of the decline of religious belief and practice in the West. Rather, such narratives often seek to celebrate secularization, promote some version of it, lament it, or otherwise oppose it in favour of a programme of desecularization or resacralization. The aim of this book is to identify some of the major genres of the history of secularization and to explore their historical contexts, normative commitments, and tendential purposes. The contributors to the volume offer different perspectives on these questions, not least because a number of them are themselves participants in the cultural-political programs described above. The primary purpose of this book, however, is the identification of such programs rather than their promotion. Overall, the collection seeks to bring analytical clarity to ongoing debates about secularization and help explain the co-existence of apparently conflicting stories about the origins of Western modernity. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Intellectual History Review journal.

The popular field of 'science and religion' is a lively and well-established area. It is however a domain which has long been characterised by certain traits. In the first place, it tends towards an adversarial dialectic in which the separate disciplines, now conjoined, are forever locked in a kind of mortal combat. Secondly, 'science and religion' has a tendency towards disentanglement, where 'science' does one sort of thing and 'religion' another. And thirdly, the duo are frequently pushed towards some sort of attempted synthesis, wherein their aims either coincide or else are brought more closely together. In attempting something fresh, and different, this volume tries to move beyond tried and tested tropes. Bringing philosophy and theology to the fore in a way rarely attempted before, the book shows how fruitful new conversations between science and religion can at last move beyond the increasingly tired options of either conflict or dialogue.

It is increasingly clear that histories of secularization are not simply dispassionate descriptions of the decline of religious belief and practice in the West. Rather, such narratives often seek to celebrate secularization, promote some version of it, lament it, or otherwise oppose it in favour of a programme of desecularization or resacralization. The aim of this book is to identify some of the major genres of the history of secularization and to explore their historical contexts, normative commitments, and tendential purposes. The contributors to the volume offer different perspectives on these questions, not least because a number of them are themselves participants in the cultural-political programs described above. The primary purpose of this book, however, is the identification of such programs rather than their promotion. Overall, the collection seeks to bring analytical clarity to ongoing debates about secularization and help explain the co-existence of apparently conflicting stories about the origins of Western modernity. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Intellectual History Review journal.

Peter Harrison provides an account of the religious foundations of scientific knowledge. He shows how the approaches to the study of nature that emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were directly informed by theological discussions about the Fall of Man and the extent to which the mind and the senses had been damaged by that primeval event. Scientific methods, he suggests, were originally devised as techniques for ameliorating the cognitive damage wrought by human sin. At its inception, modern science was conceptualized as a means of recapturing the knowledge of nature that Adam had once possessed. Contrary to a widespread view that sees science emerging in conflict with religion, Harrison argues that theological considerations were of vital importance in the framing of the scientific method.

The origin of the modern perception of religion can be traced to the Enlightenment. This book shows how the concepts of "religion" and "the religions" arose from controversies in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. The birth of "the religions," conceived of as sets of beliefs and practices, created a new science of religion in which the various "religions" could be studied and impartially compared. Harrison gives a detailed historical picture of the emergence of this concept and how it led to the discipline of comparative religion.

In recent years, the relations between science and religion have been the object of renewed attention. Developments in physics, biology and the neurosciences have reinvigorated discussions about the nature of life and ultimate reality. At the same time, the growth of anti-evolutionary and intelligent design movements has led many to the view that science and religion are necessarily in conflict. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the relations between science and religion, with contributions from historians, philosophers, scientists and theologians. It explores the impact of religion on the origins and development of science, religious reactions to Darwinism, and the link between science and secularization. It also offers in-depth discussions of contemporary issues, with perspectives from cosmology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and bioethics. The volume is rounded out with philosophical reflections on the connections between atheism and science, the nature of scientific and religious knowledge, and divine action and human freedom.

Peter Harrison examines the role played by the Bible in the emergence of natural science. He shows how both the contents of the Bible, and more particularly the way it was interpreted, had a profound influence on conceptions of nature from the third century to the seventeenth. The rise of modern science is linked to the Protestant approach to texts, an approach that spelled an end to the symbolic world of the Middle Ages, and established the conditions for the scientific investigation and technological exploitation of nature.

The origin of the modern perception of religion can be traced to the Enlightenment. This book shows how the concepts of "religion" and "the religions" arose from controversies in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. The birth of "the religions," conceived of as sets of beliefs and practices, created a new science of religion in which the various "religions" could be studied and impartially compared. Harrison gives a detailed historical picture of the emergence of this concept and how it led to the discipline of comparative religion.

When and where did science begin? Historians have offered different answers to these questions, some pointing to Babylonian observational astronomy, some to the speculations of natural philosophers of ancient Greece. Others have opted for early modern Europe, which saw the triumph of Copernicanism and the birth of experimental science, while yet another view is that the appearance of science was postponed until the nineteenth century.
Rather than posit a modern definition of science and search for evidence of it in the past, the contributors to "Wrestling with Nature" examine how students of nature themselves, in various cultures and periods of history, have understood and represented their work. The aim of each chapter is to explain the content, goals, methods, practices, and institutions associated with the investigation of nature and to articulate the strengths, limitations, and boundaries of these efforts from the perspective of the researchers themselves. With contributions from experts representing different historical periods and different disciplinary specializations, this volume offers a fresh perspective on the history of science and on what it meant, in other times and places, to wrestle with nature.

See what life was like for the colonists who made the journey across the wilderness, and the natives who were confronted by these newcomers. You can also meet the cowboys who lived their hard, lonely lives driving cattle across vast distances, and outlaws like Butch Cassidy and Billy the Kid, who chose to live by their guns rather than by more honest means. This volume vividly captures the atmosphere of the Wild West, with fact-packed text, funto- do projects, detailed illustrations, photographs from the times, images from the movies and the real facts.

In recent years, the relations between science and religion have been the object of renewed attention. Developments in physics, biology and the neurosciences have reinvigorated discussions about the nature of life and ultimate reality. At the same time, the growth of anti-evolutionary and intelligent design movements has led many to the view that science and religion are necessarily in conflict. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the relations between science and religion, with contributions from historians, philosophers, scientists and theologians. It explores the impact of religion on the origins and development of science, religious reactions to Darwinism, and the link between science and secularization. It also offers in-depth discussions of contemporary issues, with perspectives from cosmology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and bioethics. The volume is rounded out with philosophical reflections on the connections between atheism and science, the nature of scientific and religious knowledge, and divine action and human freedom.

Peter Harrison examines the role played by the Bible in the emergence of natural science. He shows how both the contents of the Bible, and more particularly the way it was interpreted, had a profound influence on conceptions of nature from the third century to the seventeenth. The rise of modern science is linked to the Protestant approach to texts, an approach that spelled an end to the symbolic world of the Middle Ages, and established the conditions for the scientific investigation and technological exploitation of nature.

Can scientific explanation ever make reference to God or the supernatural? The present consensus is no; indeed, a naturalistic stance is usually taken to be a distinguishing feature of modern science. Some would go further still, maintaining that the success of scientific explanation actually provides compelling evidence that there are no supernatural entities, and that true science, from the very beginning, was opposed to religious thinking. Science without God? Rethinking the History of Scientific Naturalism shows that the history of Western science presents us with a more nuanced picture. Beginning with the naturalists of ancient Greece, and proceeding through the middle ages, the scientific revolution, and into the nineteenth century, the contributors examine past ideas about 'nature' and 'the supernatural'. Ranging over different scientific disciplines and historical periods, they show how past thinkers often relied upon theological ideas and presuppositions in their systematic investigations of the world. In addition to providing material that contributes to a history of 'nature' and naturalism, this collection challenges a number of widely held misconceptions about the history of scientific naturalism.

The fortified religious buildings of Christendom, Islam and Tibetan Buddhism, described by an acknowledged expert who also includes his own photographs and detailed plans. Throughout history, great faiths have been subjected to persecution and attack from beyond the wall - literally walls, in Peter Harrison's remarkable book of the great monastery-fortresses, and church-fortresses, of the world. The fortified religious buildings of Christendom, Islam and Tibetan Buddhism are some of the most dramatic buildings of the middle ages. Though they shared a common purpose in defending the living faith from the armies of the unbeliever, they are astonishingly different from each other. Peter Harrison has spent a lifetime in scholarly pursuit of fortified religious buildings dating from a thousand years ago and more, in the Old and New Worlds, the Orient, and the Occident, ranging through New Mexico, North Africa and Tibet, though the majority are to be found in Europe. The wild, often hostile, terrain in which these fortresses were built speaks of a militant faith, and Peter Harrison's purpose is to show how and why religious establishments incorporated military architecture. He considers this unstudied subject from a uniquely wide point of view, historical, military, and architectural. Every formof religious building that received fortifications is illustrated, from the humble parish churches of the Anglo-Scottish Borders to the Potala Palace of the Dalai Lama and the Vatican. Particular features of this book are the author's photographs, taken in some of the wildest and most inaccessible parts of the world, and his own very detailed plans and illustrations of many of the buildings described. SHORTLISTED FOR THE LONGMAN-HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2005 AWARD. Dr PETER HARRISON is Research Associate, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York.

The conflict between science and religion seems indelible, even eternal. Surely two such divergent views of the universe have always been in fierce opposition? Actually, that's not the case, says Peter Harrison: our very concepts of science and religion are relatively recent, emerging only in the past three hundred years, and it is those very categories, rather than their underlying concepts, that constrain our understanding of how the formal study of nature relates to the religious life. In The Territories of Science and Religion, Harrison dismantles what we think we know about the two categories, then puts it all back together again in a provocative, productive new way. By tracing the history of these concepts for the first time in parallel, he illuminates alternative boundaries and little-known relations between them thereby making it possible for us to learn from their true history, and see other possible ways that scientific study and the religious life might relate to, influence, and mutually enrich each other. A tour de force by a distinguished scholar working at the height of his powers, The Territories of Science and Religion promises to forever alter the way we think about these fundamental pillars of human life and experience.

Peter Harrison has lived in France for over thirty-five years. He recounts some of his memories which have resulted in so many of his poems. From his arrival in Provence with his family and working as a chef in the Var, to his often exasperating but amusing thirteen years as the butler of a very eccentric millionaire in Monaco. He is now retired and lives in Eze.

After writing Memories and Poems from a Sunny Clime, a lot of readers asked me if I would publish a book of my poems.

Above Lake Teresa in the quiet hills of Provence, the new Auberge du Lac private retirement home opens its doors for the first time. Amongst the new residents are Charles Drew, a retired policeman with an unusual hobby and Daphne Ferris, retired secretary, with an apparent dislike for all humanity. Between the two of them, an unlikely friendship develops; which holds them in good stead with the arrival of the mysterious Lady Sophie Vanseer and her husband. But their insatiable curiosity becomes their undoing, and as everything seems to spiral out of control, their peaceful retirement becomes a thing of the past.

Documentary about the early life of Beatle George Harrison. In 1963, George accompanied his brother Peter to Benton, Illinois, to visit their sister Louise who had recently married an American and emigrated. As Louise performed her sisterly duty, plugging her brother's band to everyone who would listen, the Beatles' first song 'From Me to You' was played on Illinois radio, thrusting the Liverpudlian band into the American limelight.

ROCK MUSIC - The inside story..... I opened my ROCK MUSIC office in 1960. It was in Archer Street, Piccadilly London business was very slow. I then started booking all the beat clubs and coffee bars in Soho. But the business only became a success when I focused my efforts on Colleges & Universities. I then formed College Entertainments Ltd. I was managing director until 1972 when I married the love of my life. I started out with nothing. I was broke and lived on Tulse Hill estate in Brixton. I go into detail about my rock music adventures later. LED ZEPPELIN: Back in 1968 their manager, Peter Grant, phoned me and said that as I had been one of the best agents for The Yardbirds I could be the first agent to book new incarnation, LED ZEPPELIN. Within the hour of Peter Grant's call I had booked them for their very first gig at Surrey University. And the fee was just a few hundred pounds. They became an iconic rock band and Led Zeppelin will live for evermore. PINK FLOYD: I feel proud and privileged to have booked the original Pink Floyd for all those regular resident gigs at the Royal College of Art Students Union, Kensington Gore. Lead singer / Composer Syd Barrett eventually 'retired'; he sadly passed away in July 2006 aged 60. Gone but never forgotten. David Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett in April 1968. MARC BOLAN / T REX I booked Marc as a solo performer for that club in Beckenham. While I was talking to Marc I got a profound sense of loneliness and a touch of sadness. Was I picking up vibrations for his current state or for the future tragedy? I will never know. Marc Bolan born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 - Died 16 September 1977. The cause? His car crashed into a tree. He was a passenger, his girl friend was driving that fatal day. There is still a ribbon tied to that tree. It's flying in the wind. His music, as well as his original sense of style, helped create the glam rock era. Marc was highly talented. Marc had so much more to offer his ever growing global fan base. THE WHO: They first came into my life as the 'High Numbers' soon after I had opened my first agency, Star Attractions Ltd. I later formed College Entertainments Ltd. This company was aimed at students/colleges/unis and was a runaway success. I had taken over the former jazz club, known as Cy Laurie's, in Ham Yard, Great Windmill Street, Piccadilly. I renamed it 'The King Creole Club' after the Elvis film. I was holding auditions for a resident group and The Who ('High Numbers') were candidates. They were typical no nonsense Mods. Arrived, set up at immediately, played the audition set and then fucked off. A no B.S. Rock Music British institution. I met the group years later at a gig I arranged for them at the London College of Printing at the Elephant & Castle. They really did destroy their instruments. Nobody could believe what they where witnessing. What a waste of really good expensive instruments BUT worth a ton in publicity. ERIC CLAPTON: I booked this superstar many times. In the early to mid-sixties he was always leaving one group and joining another on a regular basis. We now know that he was searching for that perfect 'blues' sound. In his one-year stay with Mayall, Clapton gained the nickname "Slowhand" and graffiti in London declared, "Clapton is God." DAVID BOWIE: The legendary David Bowie A super star and a genuinely nice bloke. I booked David Bowie when I was producing a Melody Maker college music competition. It was held at the Lyceum in the Strand. College Ents presented a rock group competition sponsored by Melody Maker. It was to organize a talent competition for up and coming rock groups on the college circuit. We arranged for groups to audition in colleges throughout the UK. It was called 'Search' and David Bowie hosted the final for me. He was a consummate pro. He helped me make the evening a tremendous success. David is a true STAR.