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The Quantum Theory Philosophy and God 1
The Quantum Theory Philosophy and God 1
Theory, Philosophy
and God
CANER TASLAMAN
İstanbul Publishing
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To my beloved friend Kerem Aydınlar
Contents
PREFACE ........................................................................................................ 9
Introduction.....................................................................................13
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Conclusions....................................................................................... 249
REFERENCES............................................................................................ 269
PREFACE
11
Introduction
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The Quantum Theory, Philosophy and God
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Introduction
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The Quantum Theory, Philosophy and God
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Introduction
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Introduction
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Introduction
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Chapter I
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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Before the Quantum Theory
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The Quantum Theory, Philosophy and God
53 Barry R. Parker, Quantum Legacy: The Discovery That Changed the Universe,
Prometheus Books, Blue Ridge Summit (2002).
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Chapter II
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The Quantum Theory and Its Philosophical Implications
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The Quantum Theory, Philosophy and God
153 ‘Emergence’ approaches can be - and have been - defended in accord with
locality. However, the fact that when the whole is separated its parts remain
correlated even at large distances provides more than what is needed by those
(including myself) who regard ‘emergence’ with sympathy.
108
Chapter III
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Divine Action and The Quantum Theory
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Divine Action and The Quantum Theory
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195 James Gleick, Chaos: Making a New Science, Penguin Books, New York (2008).
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Divine Action and The Quantum Theory
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Divine Action and The Quantum Theory
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Divine Action and The Quantum Theory
211 Robert Russell, “Divine Action and Quantum Mechanics: A Fresh Assessment”,
p. 316.
212 Jason Colwell, “Chaos and Providence”, International Journal for Philosophy
of Religion”, no: 48 (2000), p. 131-138.
213 Michael Berry, “Quantum Physics on the Edge of Chaos”, (ed: Nina Hall, Ex-
ploring Chaos), W. W. Norton and Company, New York (1994), p. 184-195;
James P. Crutchfield et al., “Chaos”, (ed: Robert John Russell, Nancey Mur-
phy and Arthur R. Peacocke, Chaos and Complexity), The Center for The-
ology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley (2000), p. 35-48.
140
Chapter IV
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Miracles, The Laws of Nature and The Quantum Theory
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Proper Approach to
The Problem of Miracles
The majority of miracles described in the holy
texts are related to the stories of the prophets. In other
words, they have taken place during the most critical
periods of the establishment of religions. The reliabil-
ity of first-hand human witnesses from this period
might be controversial. On the other hand, it would be
231 Michael Peterson et al, p. 260.
232 The Exodus, 16, 15-29; Surah al-Baqarah, 2:50.
233 William Lane Craig, “Creation, Providence and Miracles”, (ed: Brian Davies,
Philosophy of Religion), Georgetown University Press, Washington (1998),
p. 154-155.
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Miracles, The Laws of Nature and The Quantum Theory
Philosophical Approaches to
The Laws of Nature
An overwhelming majority of the debates on mir-
acles in modern times boil down to the question of
249 Richard Swinburne, “Miracles”, Philosophical Quarterly, no: 18 (1968).
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Miracles, The Laws of Nature and The Quantum Theory
‘fire may not always burn’. Obviously, this does not mean
that every claim of ‘extraordinary’ observation has to
be accepted. However, if this approach is adopted, it
would no longer be possible to reject miracles based
on their violation of the laws of nature. Within this
perspective, miracles cannot be rejected in the name
of atheism, deism, agnosticism and theism (based on
the argument that God does not break His own rules).
If we cannot learn the exact rules set by God Himself,
how can we say that He breaks them? The outcomes
of natural sciences are only generalizations. As a re-
sult, it would be meaningless to talk about the ‘viola-
tion of laws’, since there are no absolute laws but ‘law-
like’ generalizations.
On the other hand, regularity can also become prob-
lematic for those, like Mersenne, who associate a pos-
itive meaning to the violation of the laws of nature.
When there is no absolute law, no positive meaning
can be ascribed to it.
2. Instrumentalism: The regularity approach re-
duces the ontological status of the ‘laws of nature’
from being absolute truths to generalized descriptions
of regularly observed phenomena.256 In this respect,
256 Ernest Nagel, “Issues in The Logic of Reductive Explanations”, (ed: Martin Curd
and J. A. Cover, Philosophy of Science), W. W. Norton and Company, New
York (1998), p. 911.
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line move toward the right, and all on the other side
move to the left. This kind of a motion would split up
the sea, without violating any laws of physics. The rea-
son why we do not see such events very often is not that
they are forbidden by physics, but because they are ex-
tremely unlikely to happen. Someone who believes in
an omnipotent God who can make any choice among
many possibilities, would agree that an ‘extremely low
probability’ does not pose a problem for the Divine. If
also a believer of determinism, this person would ex-
plain the miracle as follows: God knew right from the
beginning that Moses would incur the wrath of Pha-
raoh and his army and be cornered in front of the sea.
In order to save Moses, God tuned the initial condi-
tions at the Big Bang in such a way that at that pre-
cise moment the water is divided (e.g. via the motion
of molecules as mentioned above).
This perspective of miracles is not against any phys-
ical laws, while it still confers the extraordinariness of
the event (as needed for the theological interpretation).
The occurrence of extremely low probabilities are, by
definition, ‘extraordinary’. Furthermore, as we have
seen above, what distinguishes a miracle from a ‘regu-
lar’ extraordinary event is the fact that the former hap-
pens in a special theological-historical context. In the
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Miracles, The Laws of Nature and The Quantum Theory
296 This is also the main reason why Polkinghorne is prudent to link Divine ac-
tion and miracles to quantum uncertainties: John Polkinghorne, Reason and
Reality: The Relationship between Science and Religion, Trinity Press Interna-
tional, Philadelphia (1991), p. 40-42.
192
Chapter V
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The Problems of Evil and Free Will, and The Quantum Theory
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The Problems of Evil and Free Will, and The Quantum Theory
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The Problems of Evil and Free Will, and The Quantum Theory
310 Richard Swinburne, Providence and the Problem of Evil, Clarendon Press, Ox-
ford (1998), Chapter 10. For further reading on Swinburne’s ideas about free
will, see: Richard Swinburne, The Evolution of the Soul, Clarendon Press, Ox-
ford (1997), Chapter 3.
311 Alvin Plantinga, The Nature of Necessity, Oxford University Press, Oxford
(1979), p. 49-55, 165-168, 189-196; Alvin Plantinga, “The Probabilistic Ar-
gument from Evil”, Philosophical Studies, no: 35 (1979), p. 1-53.
312 For critique of this approach, see: M. Tooley, “Alvin Plantinga and the Argu-
ment of Evil”, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, no: 58 (1980); For Plantin-
ga’s response to Tooley, see: Alvin Plantinga, “Tooley and Evil: A Reply”, Aus-
tralasian Journal of Philosophy, no: 60 (1982).
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the level of the brain, and argues that the brain further
augments the effects of uncertainties. Furthermore,
God communicates with people through these gaps.374
Perspectives like Penrose’s and Ellis’ on the im-
portance of quantum uncertainties on the level of the
brain/mind have crucial implications on the problem
of free will. According to libertarianism, uncertain-
ties must not be constrained to the subatomic world,
so that under the same conditions, people can make
different choices via mental reasoning.375 In order to
support libertarianism with the quantum theory, one
should make a transition from objective probabilities
in the microscopic world to those inside the human
mind. While Ellis’ angle has some appeal in explana-
tion of theological concepts like revelation, it bears dif-
ficulties related to ‘theological determinism’.376 This is
another place where quantum uncertainties come to
the rescue: these gaps can be filled by God when He
communicates with mankind via revelations or similar
374 George Ellis, “Ordinary and Extraordinary Divine Action: The Nexus of Inter-
action”, p. 389-390.
375 It is possible to unite ‘quantum indeterminism’ as a mechanism that governs
irreducible aspects of the mind (such as free will and consciousness), with
the ‘emergence’ picture. Such a unification also facilitates the libertarian ap-
proach to free will. Indeed, some philosophers follow a similar route and in
addition to the scientific indeterminism and quantum theory, they also stress
the irreducible aspects of the human brain.
376 Robert Russell, “Divine Action and Quantum Mechanics: A Fresh Assessment”,
p. 318.
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Conclusions
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REFERENCES
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References
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