Templeton's millions
The philanthrophy of who died in July 2008, is legendary. It is also . The American-born British billionaire made his fortune from mutual funds and decided to donate the vast bulk of it to causes he cared about. There is a Templeton College at Oxford University, Sir John's alma mater (now known as , Oxford). You will find a at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, where Sir John, a committed Presbyterian, served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 42 years. Visit Tennessee, the state where John Templeton was born, and you will find the Templeton Library of Sewanne. And read the footnotes in every other research paper or book on science and religion these days, and you'll probably find an acknowledgement of a grant from the Templeton Foundation, which distributes about £40m annually to universities, colleges, research institutes, and individual researchers to encourage exploration of the relationship between science and spirituality.
This is how : "To serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality. We support research on subjects ranging from complexity, evolution, and infinity to creativity, forgiveness, love, and free will. We encourage civil, informed dialogue among scientists, philosophers, and theologians and between such experts and the public at large, for the purposes of definitional clarity and new insights. Our vision is derived from the late Sir John Templeton's optimism about the possibility of acquiring "new spiritual information" and from his commitment to rigorous scientific research and related scholarship. The Foundation's motto, "How little we know, how eager to learn," exemplifies our support for open-minded inquiry and our hope for advancing human progress through breakthrough discoveries.[1]
The Foundation's assets are currently valued in the region of £750m, but that figure will increase significantly as John Templeton's estate is settled. Grants from the Foundation range from a few thousand pounds to fund a research paper to capital investments of millions of pounds in single projects or institutions. Each year, the Foundation "honors a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works" with the £1m .
Why then, has this enormous philanthropy proven so controversial? Critics say the Foundation is driving research into science and religion in an "accomodationist" direction at the expense of academic rigour. They point to Templeton funding for intelligent design projects as a deeply questionable use of resources. Supporters point to the Foundation's more recent funding for projects working to challenge creationism and intelligent design theory, and a $10m grant for a Harvard evolutionary biology project.
Read more about the Templeton Foundation's contribution to the science-religion debate:
" in the current edition of The Nation.
Ophelia Benson writes about .
Comment number 1.
At 24th Jun 2010, Heliopolitan wrote:It's weird; I'm actually a bit torn on this. On the one hand, I take the view that religion and spirituality are purely psychological phenomena, there are many harmful and silly effects of giving these brain-flatuses too much latitude, and that any claims of the supernatural and paranormal should be treated with heavy-grade scepticism, and not taken for granted, since we know that humans invent crazy stories all the time. On the other hand, people's "spiritual" feelings are a fact of life, and looking at the interplay between the rational sides of our brains (Eunice doesn't have one of these; maybe she has a birthday coming up, and we could club together and...) and the side that grasps simplistic heuristics is a fascinating and important project.
What I don't like about the Templeton project is the a priori assertion (more shrill and strident than anything Hitchens has ever come out with) that science and religion *are* compatible on all levels. Clearly this can only be true for certain varieties of religion and for certain religious concepts. It cannot, for instance, be true for young earth creationism or a global Noahic flood.
But I *like* Francisco Ayala. I *like* Paul Davies. Sure, I don't *agree* with them on some topics, but the Templeton Prize would gain more credibility if it got awarded occasionally to an atheist, such as Richard Dawkins.
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Comment number 2.
At 25th Jun 2010, Eunice wrote:Helio: yes - Richard Dawkins is really going to win a prize for advancing knowledge in the fields of religion and science !!! haha And you think I don't have a rational brain!! :-) I'll keep the one I have thanks - but for sure you can buy me a lovely birthday present - you have a few months to save!! I did start reading unweaving the rainbow and he mentions feeling blessed - I wonder by whom or by what?? Haven't finished it yet - but one man's light is another man's energy! You guys (Dawkins and you) all come at this with the mind - and as I have said before you will never know God through the mind - only about God. God is love and can only be known through the heart - and it's not just me saying that but aeons of wisdom teachings.
The supernatural and paranormal are really normal and natural - as in part of nature and the way it is - it's just that most of us aren't fully aware of our own true nature never mind the rest of the world/universe. You don't even accept that you are an energetic being! One day Helio you might just waken up and realise you got it wrong! ( Ouch - your ego won't like that!! ;-) ) If not this lifetime then the next or the next or the next ......
The spiritual side of life is very real and within it lies the solutions and answers to man's ills and woes and the keys to living a life full of love/joy/harmony and service. I do understand where you are coming from and I know nothing I say will change your perspective - it has to come from within you. I rejected all religion and spirituality with the same scorn and ridicule that you pour on it and quite rightly in many instances for there is much that is false and harming within religion. So I too threw the baby out with the bathwater. However, there is in my view Truth that is greater than any one religion and more ancient than all of them and that is aligned with and supported by science. Indeed science is playing catch up with some of these truths - things that are known but are not yet scientifically verified. So if the Templeton foundation can give support and funding to the pursuit of Truth in these arenas -then great. However, from reading the article in the link sounds like there is concern that it will go down a more traditional evangelical religious route and that would be a mistake.
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Comment number 3.
At 25th Jun 2010, Heliopolitan wrote:Eunice can has big Tempultun Prizez nao pls? Kthxbye.
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Comment number 4.
At 25th Jun 2010, Eunice wrote:Drinking on the job again Helio?? Be careful!
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