https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Job_KozhamthadamJob Kozhamthadam - Revision history2026-08-17T15:19:23ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Job_Kozhamthadam&diff=506360&oldid=prevIlushiktka: added initial entry basic info - done2026-03-09T03:20:04Z<p>added initial entry basic info - done</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian Catholic priest and historian}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2025}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}<br />
{{Infobox philosopher<br />
| name = Job Kozhamthadam<br />
| honorific_prefix = Reverend<br />
| honorific_suffix = [[Society of Jesus|SJ]]<br />
| alma_mater = [[University of Maryland]]<br />
| region = [[Indian philosophy]]<br />
| school_tradition = {{hlist|Science–religion dialogue|history and philosophy of science}}<br />
| institutions = {{hlist|[[Jnana Deepa, Institute of Philosophy and Theology|Jnana Deepa]]|[[Indian Institute of Science and Religion]] (IISR)}}<br />
| main_interests = {{hlist|History and philosophy of science|relationship between science and religion|[[cosmology]]|ethics of technology}}<br />
| notable_works = {{hlist|''The Discovery of Kepler's Laws''|''Science, Technology and Values''|''East–West Interface of Reality''|''Science, Mysticism and East–West Dialogue''}}<br />
}}<br />
'''Job Kozhamthadam''' {{post-nominals|post-noms=SJ}} is an Indian Jesuit priest, historian and philosopher of science, widely regarded as a pioneer of the science–religion dialogue in India.<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Kozhamthadam |url=https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL841542A<br />
|website=Open Library |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Kamaladevi |title=Mastery Meets Mystery: Intersecting Science, Philosophy, Religion and Culture |url=https://pesrsncollege.edu.in/website/Publications/Books_chapters/Kamaladevi_Kunkolienker_-_Paper_1.pdf<br />
|page=3 |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> He has taught at [[Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth]] (JDV), Pune, served as its president, and is founder–president of the Indian Institute of Science and Religion (IISR), Delhi.<ref>{{cite web |title=Personnel – IAISS |url=https://iaiss.com/personnel<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Indian Institute of Science and Religion – IISR |url=https://iisrdelhi.in/<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Early life and education ==<br />
Kozhamthadam completed a B.Sc. (Honours) in Physics at [[Ranchi University]], earning the Deen Tarini Gold Medal for securing the highest marks in 1969.<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Kozhamthadam – Biography |url=https://counterbalance.org/bio/job-frame.html<br />
|website=Counterbalance |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> He subsequently obtained an M.Sc. in physics from [[Patna University]] (1972), a B.Ph. from Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (1975), a B.Th. from Vidyajyoti, Delhi (1978), an M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Notre Dame (1980), and a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Maryland (1986).<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Kozhamthadam |url=https://iaiss.com/personnel<br />
|website=IAISS |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Academic career ==<br />
From 1986 onwards Kozhamthadam taught Philosophy of Science, Cosmology, Hume, and Science and Religion at [[Jnana_Deepa,_Institute_of_Philosophy_and_Theology]] in Pune, where he also served as department chair and dean of philosophy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Kozhamthadam – Biography |url=https://counterbalance.org/bio/job-frame.html<br />
|website=Counterbalance |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> He was visiting professor of Philosophy of Science at Loyola University Chicago in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1994.<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Kozhamthadam – Author page |url=https://undpress.nd.edu/author/job-kozhamthadam/<br />
|website=University of Notre Dame Press |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
Kozhamthadam founded the Association of Science, Society and Religion (ASSR) and later the Indian Institute of Science and Religion (IISR), serving as its first president and director.<ref>{{cite web |title=Science and Religion Dialogue in India |url=https://www.jnanamrit.com/2022/03/07/science-and-religion-dialogue-in-india/<br />
|website=Jnanamrit |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> IISR organises seminars on topics such as artificial intelligence and robotics in relation to ethics and religion.<ref>{{cite web |title=AI-Robotics Revolution & Science-Religion Dialogue |url=https://iisrdelhi.in/ai-robotics-revolution-science-religion-dialogue/<br />
|website=IISR |date=5 April 2023 |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> A Templeton Foundation project lists him as co-leader of a master's programme in science and religion in India.<ref>{{cite web |title=Master's Program in Science and Religion in India |url=https://www.templeton.org/grant/masters-program-in-science-and-religion-in-india<br />
|website=John Templeton Foundation |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
He has been a member of the Indian National Commission for the History of Science ([[Indian National Science Academy]]), the [[New York Academy of Sciences]], the British Society for the Philosophy of Science, and the International Society for Science and Religion, Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web |title=Job Kozhamthadam |url=https://iaiss.com/personnel<br />
|website=IAISS |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Thought and contributions ==<br />
Kozhamthadam is widely described as "the pioneer of science–religion dialogue in India".<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Kamaladevi |title=Mastery Meets Mystery: Intersecting Science, Philosophy, Religion and Culture |url=https://pesrsncollege.edu.in/website/Publications/Books_chapters/Kamaladevi_Kunkolienker_-_Paper_1.pdf<br />
|page=3 |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref> His historical reconstruction of Kepler's work highlights how empirical, philosophical, and religious elements interact in scientific discovery.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kozhamthadam |first=Job |title=The Discovery of Kepler's Laws: The Interaction of Science, Philosophy, and Religion |publisher=University of Notre Dame Press |year=1994 |isbn=0268008809 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0daNAAACAAJ}}<br />
</ref> The book received positive academic reviews including in ''The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Finocchiaro |first=Maurice A. |title=Review: Job Kozhamthadam, S. J. The Discovery of Kepler's Laws |journal=The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science |volume=47 |issue=2 |year=1996 |pages=325–327 |doi=10.1093/bjps/47.2.325 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/687953|url-access=subscription }}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
His public writing and interviews stress "constructive collaboration" between science and religion as mutually enriching ways of interpreting reality.<ref>{{cite news |title=Science and religion have to complement each other |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/science-and-religion-have-to-complement-each-other/articleshow/67908330.cms<br />
|work=The Times of India |date=9 February 2019 |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Vedanayagam |first=Joseph Satish |title=Exploring the History of Science and Religion: An Interview with Job Kozhamthadam |url=https://toynbeeprize.org/posts/job-kozhamthadam/<br />
|website=Toynbee Prize Foundation |date=4 October 2018 |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
His later works explore complementarity between scientific [[cosmology]], Eastern religious intuition, and mystical experience, arguing that both science and spirituality point to a deeply interconnected universe.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kozhamthadam |first=Job |title=Modern Science and Eastern Intuition: Coexistence or Complementarity? |journal=Disputatio Philosophica |volume=3 |year=2001 |pages=111–122 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/150130}}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
== Selected works ==<br />
=== Monographs ===<br />
<br />
* ''The Discovery of Kepler's Laws: The Interaction of Science, Philosophy, and Religion''. University of Notre Dame Press, 1994.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kozhamthadam |first=Job |title=The Discovery of Kepler's Laws: The Interaction of Science, Philosophy, and Religion |publisher=University of Notre Dame Press |year=1994 |isbn=0268008809 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0daNAAACAAJ}}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
* ''East–West Interface of Reality: A Scientific and Intuitive Inquiry into the Nature of Reality''. ASSR / IAISS, 2003/2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=Books – IAISS |url=https://iaiss.com/books<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
* ''Science, Mysticism and East–West Dialogue''. ISPCK / IISR, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Science, Mysticism and East-West Dialogue |url=https://www.ibpbooks.in/science-mysticism-and-east-west-dialogue/p/20136<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Edited volumes ===<br />
<br />
* ''Interrelations and Interpretation: Philosophical Reflections on Science, Religion and Hermeneutics in Honour of Richard De Smet, S.J. and Jean de Marneffe, S.J.'' Intercultural Publications, 1997.<ref>{{cite web |title=Books – IAISS |url=https://iaiss.com/books<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
* ''Science, Technology and Values: Science–Religion Dialogue in a Multi-Religious World''. ASSR Publications, 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=Science, technology and values |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL16946927M/Science_technology_and_values<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
* ''The Human Soul in a World of Neurological Sciences''. ISPCK / IISR, 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Human Soul in a World of The Neurological Sciences |url=https://www.ispck.org.in/book/the-human-soul-in-a-world-of-the-neurological-sciences<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
* ''Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity''. ISPCK / IISR, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity |url=https://www.ibpbooks.in/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-humanity-critical-reflections-on-the-social-ethical-and-religious-impact-of-al/p/61992<br />
|access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Articles ===<br />
<br />
* "Modern Science and Eastern Intuition: Coexistence or Complementarity?" ''Disputatio Philosophica'' 3 (2001): 111–122.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kozhamthadam |first=Job |title=Modern Science and Eastern Intuition: Coexistence or Complementarity? |journal=Disputatio Philosophica |volume=3 |year=2001 |pages=111–122 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/150130}}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
* "Modern Science in India and the Emergence of a New Worldview" in ''New Perspectives in Indian Science and Civilization'' (Routledge, 2019).<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
* [[Science and religion]]<br />
* [[Kuruvilla Pandikattu]]<br />
* [[Richard De Smet]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [https://toynbeeprize.org/posts/job-kozhamthadam/ Interview: "Exploring the History of Science and Religion: An Interview with Job Kozhamthadam]<br />
* [https://iisrdelhi.in/ Indian Institute of Science and Religion (IISR)]<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozhamthadam, Job}}<br />
[[Category:1945 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Jesuits]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Christian theologians]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian philosophers]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Indian philosophers]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kottayam district]]</div>Ilushiktka