Science, for James Croll, began and ended in metaphysics. Metaphysics, in turn, provided proof of a First and Final Cause of all things. This proof rested on two metaphysical principles: that every event must have a cause, and that the determination of a cause is distinct from its production. This argument emerged from his deeply held religious commitments. As a 17-year-old, he converted to a Calvinist and evangelical form of Christianity. After a period of questioning the Calvinist system, he embraced it again through reading the famous treatise on the will by the New England theologian, Jonathan Edwards. This determinedly metaphysical work, which engaged as much with Enlightenment thought as with Calvinism, defended the view that the will was not a self-determining cause of human action. This ‘hard case’ provided the basis for a larger claim that every act whatever has a cause, and that the production of an act was different from its determination. In part through reading Edwards, Croll remained a devout and convinced ‘moderate’ Calvinist for the rest of his life. He also developed a deep love of metaphysics and became convinced that without it, everything, including science, remained confused and in darkness. For Croll, even the most basic science could not be properly conducted without prior metaphysical principles. But this was more than just an argument about the philosophical foundations of scientific inquiry. It was also based on Croll's conviction that the cosmos, earth history and life (including his own) was fully determined by a supreme and perfect intellect. This conviction entered into the marrow of Croll's scientific theories and shaped his interpretation of the twists and turns of his own life. In short, to take seriously Croll's own self-understanding, we need to allow him to ‘do God’.

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科学、形而上学和加尔文主义：詹姆斯·克罗尔的神

对于詹姆斯·克罗尔来说，科学以形而上学开始和结束。反过来，形而上学提供了对所有事物的第一因和最终因的证明。这个证明基于两个形而上学原则：每个事件都必须有一个原因，并且一个原因的确定不同于它的产生。这一论点源于他根深蒂固的宗教承诺。17 岁时，他皈依了加尔文主义和福音派的基督教。在质疑加尔文主义体系一段时间后，他通过阅读新英格兰神学家乔纳森·爱德华兹关于遗嘱的著名论文再次接受了它。这部坚定的形而上学著作与启蒙思想和加尔文主义一样多，它捍卫了意志不是人类行为的自我决定原因的观点。这个“困难案例”为更大的主张提供了基础，即任何行为都有其原因，并且行为的产生不同于其决定。部分通过阅读爱德华兹，克罗尔在他的余生中仍然是一个虔诚且深信“温和”的加尔文主义者。他还对形而上学产生了浓厚的兴趣，并坚信没有它，包括科学在内的一切都会变得混乱和黑暗。对于克罗尔来说，如果没有先验的形而上学原则，即使是最基本的科学也无法正确进行。但这不仅仅是关于科学探究的哲学基础的争论。这也是基于克罗尔的信念，即宇宙、地球历史和生命（包括他自己的）完全由至高无上的完美智慧决定。这种信念进入了克罗尔的骨髓 的科学理论，塑造了他对自己人生曲折的解读。简而言之，要认真对待克罗尔自己的自我理解，我们需要让他“做上帝”。