Keith Ward -The Big Questions in Science and Religion

What is the relationship between consciousness and the brain? How are the discoveries of quantum physics shaking up the way we think about science and spirituality? These are some of the important issues tackled by British philosopher and theologian Keith Ward in his new book, The Big Questions in Science and Religion, from Templeton Foundation Press.

In this interview, EnlightenNext’s Carter Phipps speaks to Ward about the book and why he took on the impressive task of teasing apart some of the points of tension between the scientific and religious worldviews. Ward is not your average theologian. In addition to a career as a professor of Divinity at Oxford University, he is also an ordained priest in the Church of England, and has had a lifelong fascination with science and the philosophy behind it. In this conversation, Ward explains why the mind-body problem is the most controversial topic in contemporary science, why “quantum physicists can’t be materialists,” and why he thinks that in the future science and religion will be dramatically different from how they are today.

BIO

Keith Ward is a British cleric, philosopher, and theologian who has specialized in comparative theology and the interplay between science and faith. He was the Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Oxford University for over a decade  before retiring in 2004. He is also a fellow of the British Academy for the humanities and social sciences, a member of the Council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, and an ordained priest in the Church of England. He has doctorates in divinity from Cambridge and Oxford Universities. He has lectured at the universities of Glasgow, St. Andrews, Cambridge, and London where he was professor of history and philosophy of religion, and has written more than twenty highly acclaimed books, including The Big Questions in Science and Religion (2008), Re-thinking Christianity (2007), and In Defence of the Soul (1998).