ORDER FROM VIRTUAL STATES: A DIALOGUE ON THE RELEVANCE OF QUANTUM THEORY TO RELIGION.

Lothar Schäfer has written a poetic tribute pointing out the relevance of quantum theory to religious beliefs. Two items in his article trouble me greatly. First are the excessive claims about the relevance of quantum mechanisms for the creation and evolution of life. Schäfer's claim that “everythin...

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Publicado en:Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 567 - 573
Autor principal: Klein, Stanley A.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Open Library of Humanities Sep2006
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        affil: Professor at the School of Optometry, Vision Science and Neuro-science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020; e-mail .
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        Schafer, Lothar
        Quantum theory
        Physics
        Religion
        Ethics
        Ontology
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          Ethics
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        evolution
        paranormal
        quantum theory
        science-religion bridge
        Sokal hoax
      ab: Lothar Schäfer has written a poetic tribute pointing out the relevance of quantum theory to religious beliefs. Two items in his article trouble me greatly. First are the excessive claims about the relevance of quantum mechanisms for the creation and evolution of life. Schäfer's claim that “everything that can happen must happen” can be dangerously misleading. The quantum rules predict that most outcomes have a near-zero chance of occurring. Although “anything can happen” can be a wonderful metaphor for living life, it can be dangerous if taken literally. It can also be misleading when applied to Darwinian mechanisms. My second trouble was with Schäfer's desire to extract moral values from quantum principles in a literalist manner. Extracting ethics from science has always been problematic. Luckily, Schäfer provides balance to these objections by including many wonderful passages that in my opinion correctly point out how quantum theory should change the way we conceive of our place in the universe. I list twelve points in which the quantum ontology differs from our normal Newtonian ontology. Awareness of these aspects is typically missing from our usual appreciation of nature, so Schäfer's poetry on a number of these points is well appreciated.
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