The combination of philosophy and religion is sometimes viewed in a negative light by theists who think of philosophy as destructive to, or even in opposition with, their religion. But there seem to be many cases throughout history where philosophy has refined and confirmed theological and religious truth claims. We see here, through example and argument, that there is certainly evidence showing the potential for mutual benefit between philosophy and theology.

The Myth of Progress and Knowledge Cont.

Progress

The more prevalent of the aforementioned attacks presented in Straw Dogs is the one on progress. Gray repeatedly states that progress does not exist outside of science. This attack is a little trickier to refute, so we will take it step by step touching several of the different renditions of the argument present in Straw Dogs.

The Myth of Progress and Knowledge

Knowledge

In the forward of the paperback edition of Straw Dogs, before we even reach page one of the actual text, Gray states that “outside of science, progress is simply a myth.” He goes on to say that religious believers today have been “driven to the margins of a culture in which science claims authority over all of human knowledge”^[1]  John Gray. Straw Dogs. 1st ed. N.p.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print. (xi).. This is just the beginning of a book-long attack against the existence of progress and knowledge anywhere outside of science itself.