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Emeritus Professor Peter Harrison
Emeritus Professor

Peter Harrison

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Overview

Background

Peter Harrison was educated at the University of Queensland and Yale University. In 2011 he moved to Queensland from the University of Oxford where he was the Idreos Professor of Science and Religion. At Oxford he was a member of the Faculties of Theology and History, a Fellow of Harris Manchester College, and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre. He is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Universityof Notre Dame, Australia, and a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford's Ian Ramsey Centre. He has published extensively on the philosophical, scientific and religious thought of the early modern period, and is interested in secularization theory and historical and contemporary relations between science and religion. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Oxford, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Chicago, is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion, and a corresponding member of the International Academy for the History of Science. In 2003, he recieved a Centenary Medal for 'service to Australian Society and the Humanities in the Study of Philosophy and Religion’. In 2011 he delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh. He was awarded a DLitt by the University of Oxford in 2013, and delivered the Bampton Lectures at Oxford in 2019. From 2015-20 has was an Australian Laureate Fellow.

His twelve books include, most recently, Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age (Cambridge, 2024), After Science and Religion (Cambridge, 2022), co-edited with John Milbank, and The Territories of Science and Religion (Chicago, 2015), winner of the Aldersgate Prize.

Availability

Emeritus Professor Peter Harrison is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework), Yale University
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Doctoral Diploma, University of Oxford
  • Australian Academy of the Humanities, Australian Academy of the Humanities

Research interests

  • Intellectual History, Historical Relations between Science and Religion, History of Science, Religious History, History of Philosophy

Works

Search Professor Peter Harrison’s works on UQ eSpace

128 works between 1986 and 2024

81 - 100 of 128 works

2007

Book Chapter

"The fashioned image of poetry or the regular instruction of philosophy?": Truth, utility, and the natural sciences in early modern England

Harrison, Peter (2007). "The fashioned image of poetry or the regular instruction of philosophy?": Truth, utility, and the natural sciences in early modern England. Science, literature, and rhetoric in early modern England. (pp. 15-36) edited by Juliet Cummins and David Burchell. Aldershot, England: Ashgate.

"The fashioned image of poetry or the regular instruction of philosophy?": Truth, utility, and the natural sciences in early modern England

2007

Journal Article

Moral progress and early modern science

Harrison, Peter (2007). Moral progress and early modern science. Historically Speaking, 9 (1), 13-14. doi: 10.1353/hsp.2007.0000

Moral progress and early modern science

2007

Book Chapter

Reinterpreting nature in early modern Europe : Natural philosophy, biblical exegesis, and the contemplative life

Harrison, Peter (2007). Reinterpreting nature in early modern Europe : Natural philosophy, biblical exegesis, and the contemplative life. The word and the world : Biblical exegesis and early modern science. (pp. 25-44) edited by Kevin Killeen and Peter J. Forshaw. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230206472

Reinterpreting nature in early modern Europe : Natural philosophy, biblical exegesis, and the contemplative life

2006

Journal Article

The Bible and the emergence of modern science

Harrison, Peter (2006). The Bible and the emergence of modern science. Science and Christian Belief, 18 (2), 115-132.

The Bible and the emergence of modern science

2006

Journal Article

Miracles, early modern science, and rational religion

Harrison, Peter (2006). Miracles, early modern science, and rational religion. Church History, 75 (3), 493-510. doi: 10.1017/S0009640700098607

Miracles, early modern science, and rational religion

2006

Journal Article

Science and dissent

Harrison, Peter (2006). Science and dissent. Minerva, 44 (2), 223-227. doi: 10.1007/s11024-006-0011-y

Science and dissent

2006

Book Chapter

The natural philosopher and the virtues

Harrison, Peter (2006). The natural philosopher and the virtues. The philosopher in early modern Europe : The nature of a contested identity. (pp. 202-228) edited by Conal Condren, Stephen Gaukroger and Ian Hunter.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The natural philosopher and the virtues

2006

Book Chapter

Disjoining wisdom and knowledge : Science, theology, and the making of western modernity

Harrison, Peter (2006). Disjoining wisdom and knowledge : Science, theology, and the making of western modernity. Wisdom or knowledge? : Science, theology and cultural dynamics. (pp. 51-72) edited by Hubert Meisinger, Willem B. Drees and Zbigniew Liana. London: T & T Clark International.

Disjoining wisdom and knowledge : Science, theology, and the making of western modernity

2006

Journal Article

Science and “Religion”: Constructing the boundaries

Harrison, Peter (2006). Science and “Religion”: Constructing the boundaries. The Journal of Religion, 86 (1), 81-106. doi: 10.1086/497085

Science and “Religion”: Constructing the boundaries

2006

Book Chapter

The 'Book of nature' and early modern science

Harrison, Peter (2006). The 'Book of nature' and early modern science. The book of nature in early modern and modern history. (pp. 1-26) edited by Klaas van Berkel and Arie Johan Vanderjagt. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters.

The 'Book of nature' and early modern science

2006

Book Chapter

Having dominion : Genesis and the mastery of nature

Harrison, Peter (2006). Having dominion : Genesis and the mastery of nature. Environmental stewardship : Critical perspectives, past and present. (pp. 17-31) edited by R. J. Berry. London: T & T Clark International.

Having dominion : Genesis and the mastery of nature

2006

Journal Article

Reassessing the Butterfield Thesis

Harrison, Peter (2006). Reassessing the Butterfield Thesis. Historically Speaking, 8 (1), 7-10. doi: 10.1353/hsp.2006.0007

Reassessing the Butterfield Thesis

2006

Journal Article

Rejoinder to Gillispie, Lindberg, and Shea

Harrison, Peter (2006). Rejoinder to Gillispie, Lindberg, and Shea. Historically Speaking, 8 (1), 16-17. doi: 10.1353/hsp.2006.0001

Rejoinder to Gillispie, Lindberg, and Shea

2005

Journal Article

“Fill the earth and subdue it”: Biblical warrants for colonization in seventeenth century England

Harrison, Peter (2005). “Fill the earth and subdue it”: Biblical warrants for colonization in seventeenth century England. Journal of Religious History, 29 (1), 3-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9809.2005.00258.x

“Fill the earth and subdue it”: Biblical warrants for colonization in seventeenth century England

2005

Book Chapter

Physico-theology and the mixed sciences : The role of theology in early modern natural philosophy

Harrison, Peter (2005). Physico-theology and the mixed sciences : The role of theology in early modern natural philosophy. The science of nature in the seventeenth century. (pp. 165-183) edited by Peter R. Anstey and John A. Schuster. Dordrecht The Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/1-4020-3703-1_7

Physico-theology and the mixed sciences : The role of theology in early modern natural philosophy

2004

Book Chapter

"Priests of the Most High God, with respect to the book of nature": The vocational identity of the early modern naturalist

Harrison, Peter (2004). "Priests of the Most High God, with respect to the book of nature": The vocational identity of the early modern naturalist. Reading God's world: The scientific vocation. (pp. 55-80) edited by Angus Menuge. St Louis, MO, United States: Concordia Publishing.

"Priests of the Most High God, with respect to the book of nature": The vocational identity of the early modern naturalist

2004

Book Chapter

Morgan, Thomas (d 1743)

Harrison, Peter (2004). Morgan, Thomas (d 1743). Oxford dictionary of national biography. (pp. 147-149) Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/19239

Morgan, Thomas (d 1743)

2004

Book Chapter

Was Newton a voluntarist?

Harrison, Peter (2004). Was Newton a voluntarist?. Newton and Newtonianism: New studies. (pp. 39-64) edited by J. E. Force and S. Hutton. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Was Newton a voluntarist?

2004

Book Chapter

Design

Harrison, Peter (2004). Design. Europe 1450-1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. (pp. II, 132-134) edited by Jonathan Dewald. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Design

2004

Book Chapter

Noah’s flood and the Western imagination

Harrison, Peter (2004). Noah’s flood and the Western imagination. Flood: Essays across the current. (pp. 1-28) edited by Paul Thom. Lismore, NSW, Australia: Southern Cross University Press.

Noah’s flood and the Western imagination

Funding

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2023
    Science and Religion Exploring the Spectrum: A Global Perspective (Templeton Religious Trust Grant led by the University of Birmingham)
    University of Birmingham
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    After Science and Religion: Rethinking the Foundations of Science-Religion Discourse
    Templeton World Charity Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2019
    After Science and Religion: Involving Theology in Science-Religion Discussions
    The University of Queensland in America, Inc
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    Science and Orthodoxy around the World (Templeton Grant administered by the Institute of Historical Research Greece)
    National Hellenic Research Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2021
    Science and Secularization
    ARC Australian Laureate Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Evolution, Atheism, and Mass Persuasion: The Uses and Abuses of Biology in New Atheist Propaganda
    The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Religion, History and the Secular
    The Historical Society's Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs (RIHA) Grants Program
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Religion, Naturalism, and Scientific Progress
    The Historical Society's Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs (RIHA) Grants Program
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2014
    Science, Progress and History
    Templeton World Charity Foundation
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Emeritus Professor Peter Harrison is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    An Investigation into the socio-cultural and/or religious influences on Young Earth Creationism in Queensland in the 1970s and early 1980s

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Ryan Williams, Associate Professor Tom Aechtner

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The Eternality of the Soul. Philosophical and Religious debates 1500-1800

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Philip Almond

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Emeritus Professor Peter Harrison directly for media enquiries about:

  • Early modern intellectual history
  • History of science
  • Philosophy and religion
  • Religion and philosophy
  • Religion and science
  • Science and religion

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au