Conjunctive explanations in science and religion. An introduction

This chapter introduces the central concern of the essays and responses to them that make up this volume. The idea that two (or more) explanations might be better than one is placed in the context of longstanding debates about the relations between science and religion/theology. This draws attention to a key challenge taken up in various ways in the chapters that follow, namely whether and how a theological or religious explanation might offer, in conjunction with a scientific one, a better account of some aspect of reality. The organisation of the book into paired chapters and responses is then set out along with an overview of the arguments made by each contributor.