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    The claim of Buddhism's compatibility with science has be... — Carmelics
    Home/Natural Theology
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    The claim of Buddhism's compatibility with science has been an enduring feature of the debate, despite shifts in what both concepts mean

    Natural Theology
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Compatibility has been consistently asserted by Buddhists since the nineteenth century
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    • 2.The meanings of 'Buddhism' and 'science' have shifted markedly over time
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    • 3.The compatibility claim persists despite these conceptual shifts
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.A compatibility claim that persists across radically shifting definitions of both terms may indicate semantic flexibility rather than genuine doctrinal harmony.
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    • 2.When 'Buddhism' can mean anything from Theravada metaphysics to secular mindfulness, and 'science' from Newtonian mechanism to quantum field theory, the claim becomes unfalsifiable.
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    • 3.Unfalsifiable compatibility claims are philosophically trivial, as noted in Laudan's critique of demarcation criteria.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.Buddhist doctrines such as rebirth, karma as cosmic moral causation, and the existence of non-physical mental continuants make testable empirical predictions that conflict with mainstream neuroscience.
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    • 2.Paul Williams and other Buddhist Studies scholars have argued that stripping Buddhism of these metaphysical commitments to achieve scientific compatibility produces a reductio of Buddhist doctrine itself.
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    Natural Theology

    Related

    A compatibility claim that persists across radically shifting definitions of bot...Buddhist doctrines such as rebirth, karma as cosmic moral causation, and the exi...Compatibility has been consistently asserted by Buddhists since the nineteenth c...Paul Williams and other Buddhist Studies scholars have argued that stripping Bud...
    +4 moreShow less
    The compatibility claim persists despite these conceptual shiftsThe meanings of 'Buddhism' and 'science' have shifted markedly over timeUnfalsifiable compatibility claims are philosophically trivial, as noted in Laud...When 'Buddhism' can mean anything from Theravada metaphysics to secular mindfuln...

    Similar

    The compatibility claim persists despite these conceptual shifts84%Buddhism is compatible with science81%Conceiving of God and science as competing explanations fails to grasp...78%The meanings of 'Buddhism' and 'science' have shifted markedly over ti...77%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: religion-science
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    As a response to colonialist attitudes, modern Buddhists since the nineteenth century have often presented Buddhism as harmonious with science (Lopez 2008). The argument is roughly that since Buddhism doesn’t require belief in metaphysically substantive entities such as God, the soul, or the self (unlike, for example, Christianity), Buddhism should be easily compatible with the factual claims that scientists make. (Note, however, that historically most Buddhist have believed in various forms of
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit