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Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington
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Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington Hardback - 2007

by Matthew Stanley

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From the publisher

Science and religion have long been thought incompatible. But nowhere has this apparent contradiction been more fully resolved than in the figure of A. S. Eddington (1882-1944), a pioneer in astrophysics, relativity, and the popularization of science, and a devout Quaker. Practical Mystic uses the figure of Eddington to shows how religious and scientific values can interact and overlap without compromising the integrity of either.

Eddington was a world-class scientist who not only maintained his religious belief throughout his scientific career but also defended the interrelation of science and religion while drawing inspiration from both for his practices. For instance, at a time when a strict adherence to deductive principles of physics had proved fruitless for understanding the nature of stars, insights from Quaker mysticism led Eddington to argue that an outlook less concerned with certainty and more concerned with further exploration was necessary to overcome the obstacles of incomplete and uncertain knowledge.

By examining this intersection between liberal religion and astrophysics, Practical Mystic questions many common assumptions about the relationship between science and spirituality. Matthew Stanley's analysis of Eddington's personal convictions also reveals much about the practice, production, and dissemination of scientific knowledge at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Details

  • Title Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington
  • Author Matthew Stanley
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition Illustrated.
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Chicago Press, Chicago
  • Publication date November 1, 2007
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Maps
  • ISBN 9780226770970 / 0226770974
  • Weight 1.24 lbs (0.56 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.14 x 6.62 x 0.7 in (23.22 x 16.81 x 1.78 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1900-1949
    • Religious Orientation: Christian
  • Category Science
  • Library of Congress subjects Religion and science, Eddington, Arthur Stanley
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2007005482
  • Dewey Decimal Code 261.550

About the author

Matthew Stanley is assistant professor of history at Iowa State University and a Mellon Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, School of Historical Studies, in Princeton, New Jersey.

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