Models

Review: Navigating Faith and Science

/ rtrube54 / 3 Comments

Navigating Faith and Science, Joseph Vukov. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022.

Summary: A framework for understanding the intersection of science and faith.

I’ve read a number of books about science and faith. Most in some way try to give the lie to the idea that science and faith are necessarily in conflict, despite public perceptions. Many, in some way, involve discussions of Ian Barbour’s schema of several models: the conflict model, the non-overlapping magisteria model of Stephen J. Gould, and that of faith and science in dialogue. Most prefer the dialogue model.

This book also does all these things, devoting an introduction dealing with the perception of conflict, stating a preference for science and faith in dialogue, and devoting a chapter to each of the three models. What, then, makes this book distinct.

First of all, the author proposes that all three of the models have their place. After showing how both scientism and fundamentalism contribute to perceptions of conflict, Vukov argues that there are always areas of potential conflict between science and faith. For example, big bang cosmology and Christian faith both posit beginnings for the physical universe. At this level, there is no apparent conflict. But what if an alternative scientific theory were proposed that posited no beginning but a continuous existence? This is an example of the potential for conflict and it is healthy to recognize this potential.

Similarly, much of science is the same for a Christian, a materialist, or a Buddhist and beliefs have no intersection with experimental results. Likewise science cannot determine the existence or non-existence of God but there are times when the independent perspectives on the same phenomenon, like prayer, reveal a fuller picture than either alone. Independence reveals both the physiological effects of prayer and the experienced reality. It is like studying a work of art both “close in,” seeing the brush stroke, and “further away,” seeing the big picture. Likewise, science can only answer questions of what is and how things work, but cannot address what ought be done. Furthermore, Independence fails to reckon with the influence of the values and worldview of the scientist that influence the questions they ask and their choices of research.

Finally, dialogue can incorporate both science in exploring certain phenomena, for example, the possibility of miracles, bringing both rigor to study of purported miracles by identifying instances that cannot be explained by natural processes and affirming the possibility that such may occur. Dialogue can be important around medical questions like brain death and the possibility of sustaining some form of “life” in the body. But dialogue can degenerate into “feel good” conversations without substantive conclusions. Dialogue can move us further away from as well as closer to truth.

All of this points up another distinctive idea the author brings to this discussion, that of intellectual humility. The best of us know in part, actually a very small part at that. Rather than suppressing this, the author proposes that we are at our best when we acknowledge our humanity with its limitations in knowledge. We may believe “all truth is God’s truth” but are hard pressed to demonstrate how science and faith are seamlessly so. Acknowledging where conflict exists is a form of humility where intellectual arrogance on the part of scientism or fundamentalism asserts the primacy of one at the expense of the other. Intellectual humility recognizes that just because one sees no overlap in the “magisteria” doesn’t mean there isn’t overlap. Arrogance may blind us from seeing. Likewise, a pre-requisite of good dialogue is esteeming the worth of what the other brings to the conversation, as well as the worth of our own contribution.

Intellectual humility and the strengths and limits of each model encourage us give us a well-stocked toolkit rather than a single tool that does not always work. It enables scientists and persons of faith to labor together in the pursuit of truth that is bigger than us mere humans.

The author offers all of this in a readable and entertaining format using illustrations regarding extra-terrestrial life, winning lotteries, the Big Bang, the fine-tuning of the universe and the discussion of multiverse theories. Rather than being daunted or defensive about evolutionary biology, for example, allows the dropping of our guards to really learn from each other. Where the models of conflict or independence seem preferable, the stance of intellectual humility allows the room to breathe, to rest, and to learn rather than fight. Rather than offer overly-simplistic “solutions” to understanding the intersection of faith and science, Vukov offers us a way of living in the intersection, often one that runs through the lives of those who are both scientists and persons of faith.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: Leadership Coaching

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leadership coaching

Leadership Coaching: Working with Leaders to Develop Elite Performance, Jonathan Passmore (ed.). London: Kogan Page, 2015 (second edition, review is of first edition).

Summary: A compendium of articles by experts in the field of leadership coaching describing and assessing different models.

Leadership coaching is becoming increasingly common with senior leadership in organizations and corporations. What one quickly discovers however is that there are a number of models used by coaches in this field. This work is a great introduction to a number of the leading models used in the field.

An introduction to leadership coaching by Jonathan Passmore, editor of this work, focuses on developing a rigorous, evidence-based research basis to coaching, looking at the effectiveness of different models. Following this introduction, fifteen different models are considered:

  • Authentic leadership
  • Integrated leadership model
  • Emotionally intelligent leadership
  • The Leadership Radar
  • Asian perspective on leadership coaching: Sun Tzu and The Art of War
  • Coaching Icarus leadership: helping leaders who can potentially derail
  • Coaching for integral leadership
  • Coaching political leaders
  • Leadership coaching with feedforward
  • Coaching from a systems perspective
  • Coaching for transactional and transformation leadership
  • Coaching for leadership style
  • Strategy coaching
  • Coaching global top teams
  • Coaching using leadership myths and stories: An African perspective

Nearly every chapter includes a case study showing the application of the coaching model in specific leadership situations.

These are some of the valuable resources I gleaned from this survey:

  • Authentic leadership occurs when there is an unforced alignment between personal values and corporate vision.
  • The integrated leadership model recognizes that effective leadership is not a single quality but propose six factors in leadership effectiveness: goal orientation, motivation, engagement, control, recognition and structure. Leaders operate on a continuum between two extremes with each factor.
  • Emotional intelligence is not a single thing but includes understanding and articulating our own emotions, ability to understand and relate to the feelings of others, the ability to manage our emotions, the ability to manage change and solve problems on an intra- and inter-personal basis, and the ability to generate positive mood and be self-motivated.
  • The Leadership Radar involves leading in the dimension of people, task, and thought, similar to a model I’ve worked with of vision, structure, and people.
  • The Icarus chapter identified a number of characteristics of leaders who fail, and most have to do with their personal character, and particularly highlighted leaders with narcissistic personalities, far from uncommon. (The description sounded chillingly similar to the current occupant of the Oval Office.)
  • Feedforward coaching doesn’t ignore past behavior, particularly past failures, but focuses on envisioning how one might improve particular behaviors through careful listening to suggestions from coaches and peers.
  • I found the chapter on coaching from a systems perspective helpful in understanding the relationships within which one leads–those on top, in the middle, on the bottom, and those who are customers. He also helpfully outlines how systems differentiate, homogenize, individuate, and integrate.

I think I might have found more relevance in reading Sun Tzu that the chapter, which seemed an abstraction of principles from this work. The chapter on transactional and transformational leadership helped make the distinction between these two forms of leadership similar, and helped me see how articulating and embodying vision is critical to the latter. The chapters on coaching politicians and coaching global top teams seemed less applicable, though the chapters made the case for the relevance of each. The African perspective was fascinating in terms of its use of myth and story in leadership coaching.

This work serves as a primer and resource for further study on a number of extant leadership coaching models and introduces one to leading researchers and consultants in the field. The second edition adds chapters on conversational leadership, team leadership, strengths-based leadership, and complexity informed leadership.