The Faith of Biology and the Biology of Faith: Order, Meaning, and Free Will in Modern Medical Science

An award-winning biologist presents his moving yet deeply reasoned discussion on the intersection of scientific method and religious faith.
Award-winning biologist Robert Pollack argues that religious faith and science can inform each other's visions of the world. He begins by reflecting on questions of meaning and purpose—and the difficulty of finding either in the orderly world described by the data of science. He then focuses on matters of free will: from the choice of a scientist to accept evidence, to the choice of a religious person to accept a revelation, to a patient's loss of free will in medical treatment. Pollack concludes with the promise of genetic medicine in enabling us to glimpse our future and also offers a reconsideration of the utility of the so-called placebo effect in curing illness.

An award-winning biologist presents his moving yet deeply reasoned discussion on the intersection of scientific method and religious faith.