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A New Natural Philosophy: Recovering a Natural Science and Christian Pedagogy
Aristotle said that philosophy (the love of wisdom) always begins in wonder―wonder that often is kindled as we gaze upon the astonishing world around us. Yet today our science classes too often neglect the wonder evoked by the natural world and instead occlude and stifle it. How, then, can our science classes reconnect wonder to nature, wonder that will lead to wisdom, work, and worship? This book seeks to answer that question by helping recover the “natural” in natural science, the wisdom in “philosophy,” and the worship that flows from wonder. Applying C. S. Lewis’s vision of “a new Natural Philosophy” and the deep insights of Christian thought to the understanding and pedagogy of natural science, the authors suggest a new paradigm that reveals God’s hand and purposes in the foundations and methods of science and allows students to see its sources, ideas, and conflicts more clearly. This book addresses a holistic curriculum, an incarnational pedagogy, and an interdisciplinary approach to teaching natural science in K–12 classrooms. It describes how three teachers have effectively implemented these ideas at two different schools. The authors share lessons for teachers on subjects ranging from gardening to biology to physics and for age ranges from pre-K to high school or even early college. Addressing big-picture discussions as well as supplying practical items, such as lesson plans, curriculum outlines, and book lists, this book will both challenge and reward those who have wondered how to think more deeply about Christian faith and natural science.
376 pages, Paperback
Published July 7, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 23, 2023
Novels like Brave New World and 1984 herald a day when the world is stripped of wonder, when the human body is merely a mechanical instrument, equal to the sum of its interchangeable parts. This sounds extreme, but it might be the logical conclusion of a modern scientific philosophy, which has reduced a wonderful Creation to a mechanical world. A New Natural Philosophy: Recovering a Natural Science and Christian Pedagogy explores this subject at the intersection between science, faith, mystery, and philosophy. It attempts to inspire Christian teachers to recapture wonder.
How has scientific advances affected the intersection of science and mystery? In the Middle Ages, scientists and philosophers approached nature with wonder, mystery, and at times superstition. As they learned more, they rightfully discarded superstition. Unfortunately, they also discarded wonder and mystery. Before the Enlightenment, the sun represented the light of God's love; afterwards, it was viewed merely as a massive flaming ball of plasma. For a while, though, the human body still maintained its mystery as a wonderful creation made in the image of God. Then, Darwin formulated his views of evolution, stripping the body of wonder and completing a mechanistic view of the universe.
Despite the prevailing modernism, maybe the universe remains mysterious. Who fully understands gravity? Why do cell biologists talk about molecules as moving purposefully if they are passive and meaningless? Maybe there is more to matter than we think, and maybe we should teach as if there were.
A New Natural Philosophy introduces a method of teaching science that recaptures wonder. Its approach is interdisciplinary, integrating literature, mathematics, philosophy, and history. It includes time immersing in, classifying, and sketching nature. It includes the common arts of agriculture, hunting, cooking, building, leatherworking, metal working, and other crafts. This holistic approach is coupled with theology to understand the nature of Christ upholding all things.
Science teachers should attempt to recover a natural philosophy. Their teaching should evoke a wonder pointing to the Logos who created all things, holds all things together, and remains embodied and mysterious in His Creation. “Truth does not exclude mystery but embraces it” (p. 276).
How has scientific advances affected the intersection of science and mystery? In the Middle Ages, scientists and philosophers approached nature with wonder, mystery, and at times superstition. As they learned more, they rightfully discarded superstition. Unfortunately, they also discarded wonder and mystery. Before the Enlightenment, the sun represented the light of God's love; afterwards, it was viewed merely as a massive flaming ball of plasma. For a while, though, the human body still maintained its mystery as a wonderful creation made in the image of God. Then, Darwin formulated his views of evolution, stripping the body of wonder and completing a mechanistic view of the universe.
Despite the prevailing modernism, maybe the universe remains mysterious. Who fully understands gravity? Why do cell biologists talk about molecules as moving purposefully if they are passive and meaningless? Maybe there is more to matter than we think, and maybe we should teach as if there were.
A New Natural Philosophy introduces a method of teaching science that recaptures wonder. Its approach is interdisciplinary, integrating literature, mathematics, philosophy, and history. It includes time immersing in, classifying, and sketching nature. It includes the common arts of agriculture, hunting, cooking, building, leatherworking, metal working, and other crafts. This holistic approach is coupled with theology to understand the nature of Christ upholding all things.
Science teachers should attempt to recover a natural philosophy. Their teaching should evoke a wonder pointing to the Logos who created all things, holds all things together, and remains embodied and mysterious in His Creation. “Truth does not exclude mystery but embraces it” (p. 276).
February 27, 2025
Wow. Please, please read this book. This is probably one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. Maybe it's just my tiny obsession with science, but the way the authors advocate for the institution of a New Natural Philosophy (which by the way is based on Lewis' Abolition of Man) is wonderful. Anyone who is in classical education or plans to be should read this book as soon as possible.
Part 1 focuses on defining the terms and setting up the rest of the book. What is natural philosophy? They answer that question in a great way, integrating many other subjects, mostly by means of the liberal arts, in the process. We also learn about the common and fine arts and their place in science, and we get to look at science as an incarnation pedagogy and how science leads to worship.
Part 2 focuses on integration and interdisciplinarity. How does science (or rather natural philosophy) relate to the liberal arts, math, logic, history, and how does that shape our theology? It looks at how science can reflect community, logos, and covenantal charity. Many Enlightenment and Romantic philosophers are thrown in the mix and the authors evaluate how their theories and beliefs shaped natural science over time.
Part 3 looks at how to implement these ideas in the classroom, including detailed micronarratives for biology and physics, and ideas for K-6.
Major themes:
The history and beliefs of famous scientists. Newton, Darwin, Kepler, and Galileo, among others, frequently make appearances in the book and it looks at how their individual beliefs shaped the theories they eventually formulated.
Philosophers. How has philosophy shaped science and vice versa? How can we think of science as natural philosophy in the modern world when it has been so reduced?
Truth does not exclude mystery but embraces it. As a Novare kid, this specific phrase was so interesting to me. It makes an appearance many times throughout the book.
Overall, this book really challenged my understanding of science in both a Christian and a classical setting, and I loved it. It is making a large appearance in my thesis! I'm going to have to read it again in the future since it took me about four months to finish it and I need to refresh my mind on the earlier parts.
Part 1 focuses on defining the terms and setting up the rest of the book. What is natural philosophy? They answer that question in a great way, integrating many other subjects, mostly by means of the liberal arts, in the process. We also learn about the common and fine arts and their place in science, and we get to look at science as an incarnation pedagogy and how science leads to worship.
Part 2 focuses on integration and interdisciplinarity. How does science (or rather natural philosophy) relate to the liberal arts, math, logic, history, and how does that shape our theology? It looks at how science can reflect community, logos, and covenantal charity. Many Enlightenment and Romantic philosophers are thrown in the mix and the authors evaluate how their theories and beliefs shaped natural science over time.
Part 3 looks at how to implement these ideas in the classroom, including detailed micronarratives for biology and physics, and ideas for K-6.
Major themes:
The history and beliefs of famous scientists. Newton, Darwin, Kepler, and Galileo, among others, frequently make appearances in the book and it looks at how their individual beliefs shaped the theories they eventually formulated.
Philosophers. How has philosophy shaped science and vice versa? How can we think of science as natural philosophy in the modern world when it has been so reduced?
Truth does not exclude mystery but embraces it. As a Novare kid, this specific phrase was so interesting to me. It makes an appearance many times throughout the book.
Overall, this book really challenged my understanding of science in both a Christian and a classical setting, and I loved it. It is making a large appearance in my thesis! I'm going to have to read it again in the future since it took me about four months to finish it and I need to refresh my mind on the earlier parts.
Read
March 4, 2022Did not finish - read about 80% of the philosophical portion and 70% of the practical.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews