Jitse van der Meer

Biography

Jitse M. van der Meer was born in 1947 in The Netherlands. His interest in the engagement of religion and science was triggered in highschool by Nicolaas Rupke, now a professor in the history of science at the university of Göttingen. Rupke introduced him to the controversies surrounding creation and evolution. This interest expanded into the philosophy of science during his undergraduate study in biology at the State University of Groningen (1966-69). Reading Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s Die Philosophie des Lebendigen was another pivotal experience. It confirmed a suspicion that he was a philosopher-biologist.

Recent Publications

Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions: To 1700 (Vols. 36/1 & 36/2)

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Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions: 1700-Present (Vols. 37/1 & 37/2)

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Van der Meer, J. M., Mandelbrote, S. (Eds.) Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions: To 1700. Vols. 36/1 and 36/2. Leiden/Boston: Brill Academic Publishers. 2008. 

The four companion volumes of Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions contribute to a contextual evaluation of the mutual influences between scriptural exegesis and hermeneutics on the one hand and practices or techniques of interpretation in natural philosophy and the natural sciences on the other. We seek to raise the low profile this theme has had both in the history of science and in the history of biblical interpretation. Furthermore, questions about the interpretation of scripture continue to be provoked by current theological reflection on scientific theories. We also seek to provide a historical context for renewed reflection on the role of the hermeneutics of scripture in the development of theological doctrines that interact with the natural sciences.

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Presentation at the Thomas More Institute - May 26, 2009

Multi-Modal Hierarchy: Distinguishing Parts, Wholes, and Levels of Organization