The Pyramids of Sciences and of Humanities
Implications for the Search for Religious “Truth
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3758326 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard L Gorsuch (Fuller Theological Seminary, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2002 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 1822-1838 |
| Publication date | 2002-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0002764202045012005 |
| OpenAlex | W1983799576 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 7 |
The 1900s' truth criteria were easily met in science but not easily met in the humanities and religions. This approach was founded in the classical view of science: describing the research so that others may replicate it. This new approach gave science a major way of establishing truth not available to humanities and religion. Physics was seen as the base of science, with natural and social sciences built upon it as in a pyramid. The advent of postmodernism called the notion of "finding the truth" into question. Exegesis of a radical postmodernism shows that science provides nomothetic truth, that is, truth based on replication, whereas the humanities and revelation provide idiographic truth, that is, truth based on a unique experience, and each has separate rules for justifying a belief. The resulting dual pyramid, one for science and one for humanities, provides bases of beliefs in truths in the sciences, including psychology, and in the humanities, including religion
Epistemology · Humanities · Natural science · Nomothetic · Nomothetic and idiographic · Philosophy of science · Postmodernism · Pragmatic theory of truth · Sociology · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Evolution and Science Education · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,18 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2012 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |