The Wisdom of Science--Its Connection with Culture and Religion: The World Library of the New Century · Foreign Culture Series

Author: (German) Hamberly Brown
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-03-01
Features: "The Universal Library of the New Century" is a key book launched by Liaoning Education Press. The entire series focuses on the popularization and dissemination of culture, adhering to the principles of being essential, practical, durable, and easily stored. Under the guidance of experts from various disciplines at home and abroad, the collection includes rare and valuable editions of Chinese and foreign classics. From 1996 to 2005, the plan was to publish 100 books annually, accumulating to 1,000 volumes, aiming to provide a basic bibliography for modern readers in the 21st century that reflects the general outline of human cultural development.
Traditional Culture Series: Collects classic works of traditional Chinese culture, which have been authenticated and corrected by version experts, and are arranged in simplified horizontal characters.
Modern Culture Series: Focuses on the works of academic giants during the Republican era, collecting and organizing rare, well-known but hard-to-find, or long-lost works, and arranging them in simplified characters.
Foreign Culture Series: Collects treasures from the world's humanistic heritage outside China, with the theme of cultural research and introduction. The writing style is light and elegant, the tone is fresh and lively, and it is highly readable, belonging to the category of "small works by great writers."
The overarching purpose of the entire series is to provide readers eager for knowledge with long-lasting, readable, and useful books, demonstrating the necessity of reading activities in modern society and advocating the formation of a reading culture in society, creating a realm where book lovers can feel like they own a library.
Hamberly Brown is a professor of astronomy at the University of Sydney, Australia. His work is divided into four parts: Part I: Changing the World; Part II: Explaining the World; Part III: The Cultural Dimensions of Science; Part IV: The Religious Dimensions of Science. The entire book contains 160,000 words and is very concise. I read this book in the 1980s and reread it recently. It is still excellent. The new edition of this book was published by Liaoning Education Press as part of "The Universal Library of the New Century," translated by Li Xingmin. This book reposes the question "What is science?" for modern Chinese readers. The writing is concise, and the perspective is well-aligned. Although it is a new edition from 1998, I feel it did not receive enough attention.
Parts I and II of the book emphasize the two major characteristics of modern science: its ability to change the world. The author, with a historical and scientific perspective, explains the features of modern science in a very accessible and engaging way. The later two parts discuss the cultural and religious dimensions of science, which are relatively novel for Chinese readers. It explores the utility of science, how the rapid development of material life has benefited humanity, and understanding science through material abundance.
The book integrates the scientific tradition since ancient Greece and proposes that the purpose of new science is to bridge the relationship between humans and God, elevating the spiritual world, as Bacon once said: "Science brings us closer to God." This aspect is often overlooked by modern people.
What does Hamberly Brown mean by the cultural and religious dimensions of science? He argues that science originally has the function of creating new cultures and ways for human civilization. The scientific method did not arise from nothing; it enhances human intellect and belief, and science should achieve reconciliation with religion. Although they were once in opposition, they should ultimately be reconciled. In fact, religion and science have reconciled before. In the 12th century, orthodox Christianity combined Greek science to create empirical philosophy.
Brown believes it is difficult to establish religious faith while ignoring the image of the world provided by science, such as the theory of creation. Today, what is taught in the Bible is merely metaphorical, and religion should compromise with science. However, science should also be combined with religion because, after all, it does not provide the fundamental driving force of human life, such as "Why do humans live?" Brown explains that the cultural dimension reveals the true function of science is not about material improvement but the pursuit of wisdom. Extending this to the religious dimension, both religion and science need to compromise and recognize each other.
To elaborate further, Brown traces science back to its early days, noting that neither Newton nor Einstein initially envisioned science transforming into materialism, but their work had a religious nature. The harmony of the entire universe is something worth admiring and revering. Einstein once said: "The only thing that is truly incomprehensible is that the universe is comprehensible," such as the orderly operation of the universe. Therefore, Einstein opposed anthropomorphic religion but did not oppose religion itself. He also said: "Religion without science is weak, and science without religion is blind."
I think in this work of Hamberly Brown, the dimension of wisdom in science and the cultural and religious dimensions are unfamiliar to Chinese readers. Often, we only see the material aspect and fail to accurately grasp its essence. I believe reading this book would be beneficial.