Rocks of Ages

1999 Book by Stephen Jay Gould

For other uses, see Rock of Ages.

Rocks of Ages

Author| Stephen Jay Gould
Subject| Relationship between religion and science
Publisher| Ballantine Books

Publication date

| 1999
Media type| Print
Pages| 256
ISBN| 0-345-43009-3
OCLC| 39886951

Dewey Decimal

| 291.1/75 21
LC Class| BL240.2 .G68 1999
Preceded by| Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms
Followed by| The Lying Stones of Marrakech

Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life is a 1999 book about the relationship between science and religion by the Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. First published by Ballantine Books, it was reprinted by Vintage Books. The book is a volume in the series, The Library of Contemporary Thought.

## Summary[edit]

Gould addresses the conflict between secular scientists and religious believers who question or deny scientific theory when it is in discrepancy with religious teachings on the origin and nature of the natural world. Borrowing a term from the Catholic Church, Gould describes science and religion as each comprise a separate magisterium of human understanding. Science defines the natural world, and religion the moral world. If each realm is separate, then according to Gould, they are not in conflict. He calls this the principle of non-overlapping magisteria, abbreviated NOMA.[1]

## Reception[edit]

The book has been reviewed extensively, and commented on by both sides of the conflict he addresses.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

## See also[edit]

* Intelligent design
* Richard Dawkins
* Moral Landscape

## References[edit]

1. ^ "description of NOMA at the unofficial Gould archives". Stephenjaygould.org. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
2. ^ "NOMA" – by Michael Ruse, Metanexus Institute Archived October 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ "Gould on God – by H. Allen Orr, Boston Review". Bostonreview.net. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
4. ^ "The religious views of Stephen Gould and Charles Darwin – by Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 5, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
5. ^ "The Holes in Gould's Semipermeable Membrane Between Science and Religion – by Ursula Goodenough, American Scientist". Americanscientist.org. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
6. ^ "Gould's Separate "Magisteria" – by Mark Durm, Massimo Pigliucci, Skeptical Inquirer" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
7. ^ Beplate, Justin. "Inventing allies in the sky – by Kenan Malik, New Statesman". Newstatesman.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
8. ^ "Dictating the Terms of the Peace – by Ross Rhodes". Bottomlayer.com. May 24, 1999. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
9. ^ "Book review – by Brian Jackson, Human Nature Review". Human-nature.com. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
10. ^ "Book review – by Jim Walker". Nobeliefs.com. Retrieved December 4, 2011.

## External links[edit]

* Rocks of Ages at Ballantine Books website

* v
* t
* e

Books by Stephen Jay Gould

General|

* An Urchin in the Storm
* The Mismeasure of Man
* Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle
* Wonderful Life
* Full House
* Questioning the Millennium
* Rocks of Ages
* The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Magister's Pox

Essay collections
from Natural History

* Ever Since Darwin
* The Panda's Thumb
* Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes
* The Flamingo's Smile
* Bully for Brontosaurus
* Eight Little Piggies
* Dinosaur in a Haystack
* Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms
* The Lying Stones of Marrakech
* I Have Landed

Technical|

* Ontogeny and Phylogeny
* The Structure of Evolutionary Theory

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number
*[LC Class]: Library of Congress Classification
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