Doctoral Dissertation Research: American Humanists and the Ideology of Science

9311037在美国，科学和宗教之间的关系由来已久，有时还存在争议。在过去的十年里，更多原教旨主义基督教教派的倡导者认为，当代科学的许多理论，特别是进化论，都是由一种被称为世俗人文主义的“宗教”提出的。原教旨主义者提出了另一种创世论，并说服了至少两个州立法机构，让他们相信，对立的理论应该在生物学课堂上享有平等的地位。在他的论文研究中，谢尔顿先生考察了20世纪美国“世俗人文主义”的发展及其与科学的关系。他的目标是了解科学和宗教在人文主义思想中的作用，以及著名科学家和民粹主义者采用人文主义作为展示科学的历史、发现和方法的框架的方式。该项目的重点是约翰·杜威、H·J·穆勒、卡尔·萨根、B·F·斯金纳等人。该项目对美国主要的人文主义期刊以及主要演员和评论家的已发表作品进行了彻底的调查。此外，谢尔顿正在利用采访和档案研究，提供有关人文主义制度发展的重要数据，以及它与科学家和他们的思想的关系。***

9311037 Numbers Science and religion have had a long and at times contentious relationship in the United States. Within the past decade, advocates of more fundamentalist Christian sects have argued that many of the theories of contemporary science, especially the theory of evolution, have been advanced by a "religion" known as secular humanism. The fundamentalists have offered an alternative creationist theory and have convinced at least two state legislatures that the opposing theories should have equal standing in biology classes. In his dissertation research, Mr. Sheldon is examining the development of "secular humanism" and its relationship to science in 20th century America. His objectives are to understand the role of science and religion in humanist thought and the ways in which prominent scientists and popularists have adopted humanism as a framework for the presentation of the history, discoveries and methods of science. The project focuses on John Dewey, H. J. Muller, Carl Sagan, B. F. Skinner and others. The project involves a thorough survey of the primary humanist journals in America as well as published works of the principal actors and critics. In addition, Mr. Sheldon is using interviews and archival research to provide crucial data on the institutional development of humanism and its relation to scientists and their ideas. ***