Monday, January 24, 2011

NOMA For Accomodationists

Steven Jay Gould’s principle of Non Overlapping Magisteria, or NOMA, is based on the notion that the field of science and the field of religion occupy separate realms or ‘magisteria’, namely the empirical, or natural magisteria for science and the non-empirical, or supernatural magisteria for religion.
As these magisteria are ‘non-overlapping’, it imposes a strict limitation in how science and religion deal with each others realm of influence and results in two important ground rules.

1. Science can say nothing about religion and the supernatural realm.

And equally but no less importantly

2. Science can say nothing about religion and the supernatural realm.