il Giardino Romantico

There has been a long dispute between the relationship between science and religion.  These two realms that are seemingly incompatible from every single angle, are in fact inseparable.  They are two of the most important aspects of the fundamental basis for human civilisation.  Even long before the scientific revolution, when the study was more commonly known as 'natural philosophy', it had been a significant pursuit of knowledge.  Intellectuals, such as Francis Bacon, tried to search for ways to reconcile the study of science and religion, and is best depicted in his Utopian fiction 'New Atlantis'.  In the realm of the occult, people studied alchemy, magic, astrology, and so on, in order to gain a better understanding of the 'wonders of God'.  What people often misunderstand it the goal of science.  It is not a pursuit of knowledge, in which the pursuer seeks to 'overreach' and attempt to take over the power of their almighty God.  It is, quite on the contrary, a way through which they attempt to gain a better understanding of the 'works of God'.  The problem arises not within the two realms themselves, but the different ways people interpret the goals of science and religion.

In 'The Da Vinci Code', the protagonist, Robert Langdon, had already pointed out that the fact that Jesus might have married and had a child, should not diminish the faith people had in him.  Personally, I cannot agree more with Langdon.  The fact that Jesus got married and had a child makes him even more 'human', which in turn, makes his sacrifice even more majestic.  In very much the same way, Dan Brown seeks to open up a discussion concerning the nature of religionthrough conflicting ideas of science in 'Angels and Demons'.  On the surface, we see the struggle between good and evil, which is basically evident in almost every single story line.  If you read between the lines, however, there is the interminable discussion of the relationship between science and religion.  Can there ever be a reconciliation between them?  If so, how is it possible?

The Roman Catholic Church had always been known to be 'conservative' and 'traditional', euphemisms for being 'close-minded'.  The best example of their conservativeness would probably be the case of how they had treated Galileo.  The Catholic Church finds itself in a very difficult position, and will continue to find themselves in even more difficult situations as time elapses, since the realm of science will only progress in development.  It seems to me that the solution lies not in whether to preserve tradition or to embrace modernity, but it really lies in seeking the balance where religion will be able to guide science into a more ethical approach, and conversely, science can enable people to gain a better understanding of the natural world, i.e., the 'works of God'. 

The film appealed to me in several ways.  Firstly, because I had written two essays discussing the relationship between science and literature, I found the film extremely thought-provoking in terms of the way science and religion are juxtaposed against each other.  Secondly, this was the first time, perhaps in my life, that I had let myself off the hook for not re-reading the novel before viewing the film adaptation.  It was a refreshing experience as I had forgotten most of the plot line, and was still able to be surprised by the dramatic 'turn' at the end of the story.  Thirdly, interestingly enough, the group that had accompanied me to the viewing of the film was a group of PhD students studying physics.  I couldn't resist asking them to explain the plausibility of the creation of 'antimatter' to me.  In the end, I don't think it really matters whether or not it is 'possible' to create 'antimatter', since the work is, after all, fictitious.  Likewise, the way the author makes use of the Illuminati to create an illusion, which confuses the audience/reader about their true existence, is not the ultimate question he wishes to raise. What really matters, is the deeper meaning below the surface of the plot, which attempts to intrigue the viewers to consider, or reconsider, the relationship between science and religion.

延伸閱讀：
【義大利】天使與魔鬼 @ Aspirant à la Liberté
【義大利】天使與惡魔 場景揭露 @ Aspirant à la Liberté
天使與魔鬼～是非天使與魔鬼～是非功過迷千春、造反取經原一人 @ seagod的漫遊人生

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天仙念：如果真的要寫的更詳細，這篇心得大概可以寫成一整篇論文。我沒時間也沒體力去搜尋更多相關的細節。但是極少提到的『光明會』以及各種不同象徵圖示，都非常值得探索。Dan Brown的文筆，實在是不予置評。但是從『達文西密碼』以及『天使與魔鬼』這兩本書延伸出的探討議題，我不得不向Dan Brown小小致敬一下。