Böcker av Fraser Watts

Head and Heart: Perspectives from Religion and Psychology takes an inter-disciplinary ap­proach, linking the thinking of theologians and philosophers with theory and research in present-day psychology. The tradition of using framing questions that have been developed in theology and philosophy can now be brought into dialogue with scientific approaches developed within cognitive psy­chology and neuroscience. Though these scientific approaches have not generally used the terms “head” and “heart,” they have arrived at a similar distinction in other ways. There is a notable convergence upon the realization that humans have two modes of cognition at their disposal that correspond to “head” and “heart.” The time is therefore ripe to bring the approaches of theology and science in to dialogue—an impor­tant dialogue that has been heretofore neglected.

Each world faith tradition has its own distinctive relationship with science, and the science-religion dialogue benefits from a greater awareness of what this relationship is. In this book, members of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) offer international and multi-faith perspectives on how new discoveries in science are met with insights regarding spiritual realities.The essays reflect the conviction that “religion and science each proceed best when they’re pursued in dialogue with each other, and also that our fragmented and divided world would benefit more from a stronger dialogue between science and religion.”

This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the art assessment of what psychology says about religion and spirituality. It includes different branches of psychology and aspects of religion, and covers key concepts and practical applications. It is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduates, and those training for religious ministry.

Presents a celebration, survey and critique of the theological work of arguably the most important and most widely-read contributor to the modern dialogue between science and theology: John Polkinghorne. Including a major survey by Polkinghorne himself of his life's work in theology, this book focuses on key aspects of Polkinghorne's work.

The book seeks to describe the psychological processes that are involved in arriving at religious knowledge. It is argued that the ways in which people come to know other things, in particular how people arrive at personal insights, is close at many points to how they arrive at religious insights.