Can Science Reinforce Meaning and Purpose?
P. Hammond Department of Electrical Engineering The University, Southhampton England S09 5NH From: PSCF 39 (December 1987): 252 The fascinating review article “Scientific Contribution to Meaning and Purpose in the Universe” by Herrmann and Templeton (June 1987) has raised a number of questions in my mind, which I hope you may address in the future. The title of the article suggests that an area of knowledge called science can in some way reinforce the Christian belief in meaning and purpose. It may seem churlish to subject such an approach to criticism in a journal which has recently been given its present title, but I am happier with the title of the journal which includes the word “perspectives” than with the title of the article which does not explicitly involve human personality. Let me illustrate what I mean. The article leans heavily on quotations from eminent mathematical physicists, and the scientific contributions that it mentions are largely those derived from mathematical ph
