The 2009 Dingle Prize lecture will be given by Thomas Dixon on Friday 9th
October at the Pearson Lecture Theatre, University College London, at 6.30pm
All welcome.
The Starry Messenger and the Incredulity of St Thomas
Doubting Thomas has been admired as a model of scepticism and
empiricism by scientific luminaries from Thomas Huxley to Stephen Jay
Gould and Richard Dawkins. His demand for evidence is favourably
contrasted with the 'blind faith' of the other disciples. However,
aside from misreading the original story, this interpretation
misunderstands the nature of both science and faith. In this lecture,
Thomas Dixon will explore the science, religion and art of early
seventeenth-century Rome, with particular reference to Galileo's
telescopic observations and Caravaggio's masterpiece 'The Incredulity
of St Thomas'. The lecture will suggest that science and religion use
evidence to produce knowledge in similar ways and will ask whether the
other disciples might have made better scientists than St Thomas.
Dr Thomas Dixon is Senior Lecturer in History at Queen Mary, University of
London. His book 'Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction' (Oxford
University Press, 2008) was awarded the 2009 Dingle Prize by the British
Society for the History of Science. The Dingle Prize is awarded biennially
for the best book in the history of science, technology and medicine
accessible to a non-expert readership. In commending Dixon's book the
judges wrote: 'Using a wide-range of examples Dixon beautifully
demonstrates how the history of science can illuminate a complex issue of
contemporary importance - the relationship between science and religion.
The book is historically sophisticated, intellectually engaging, and
thought provoking. It is clearly and concisely written, well argued, and
accessible to the non-expert; it should appeal to a wide readership not
only beyond the history of science community but also outside academia.'
**********************************************************************
1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following message:
set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens]
2. To resume email from the list, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message:
set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens]
3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message:
leave psci-com -- [include hyphens]
4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
5. The psci-com gateway to internet resources on science communication and science and society can be found at http://psci-com.ac.uk
6. To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
|