The Wacky World Of Quantum Mechanics (And How It Taught Me Theology)
The Wacky World of Quantum Mechanics (and how it taught me theology)
James Alexander, MaTheol, MA, PhD
What is quantum mechanics? How does it relate to theology and God? It did for me. Here is the story — as I see it.
Mechanics
for a very foundational discovery in physics. Thomson discovered that . Thirty-one years later, his son George was at the podium receiving his prize for his discovery that electrons are waves. These discoveries united together form a very basic notion in quantum physics. It is known as
That is one example of . This is the idea that a particle can actually be two places at one time. The principle of quantum superposition states particles can exist in 2 distinct locations at the same time as well as in multiple states or forms. Right along with this is the notion that one cannot know the velocity of a particle and its position. These things can only be known when the object/particle/wave are observed. The observer makes all the difference.
In the quantum world, it is all about probabilities. We only know the state, position, location of a particle when we look.
Then, just when we thought the world was weird enough, we encounter :
Quantum entanglement is one of the uber-bizarre phenomena seen when things get itty-bitty. When two or more particles link up in a certain way, no matter how far apart they are in space, their states remain linked. That means they share a common, unified quantum state. So, observations of one of the particles can automatically provide information about the other entangled particles, regardless of the distance between them.
Or, as one of the early quantum pioneers put it: “If we change one, the other instantly changes to compensate. This happens even if we separate the two particles from each other on opposite sides of the universe.”
In other words, when two particles are “linked up” somehow, when one spins, so does the other. When one moves, so does the other. They are connected. It’s true if they are an inch away, or a million miles away. It’s just weird down there in the quantum world. As puts it: “In the quantum world, nothing is ever known for certain.”
Like most shifts in paradigms, the discovers and don’t like it much:
Einstein described his “private opinion” of quantum physics in one of the 1945 letters by referencing a phrase that he had already made famous: “God does not play dice with the universe.” In the letter, he wrote: “God tirelessly plays dice under laws which he has himself prescribed.” This variation clarified his argument that quantum particles must adhere to certain rules that don’t change randomly, and that the quantum world required better explanations for particle behavior.
But since the 1920s, research has born out the validity of quantum mechanics again and again. And, in my opinion, this has revived a very old idea. In fact, centuries old.
Panpsychism
In a way, you might define panpsychism as a view that The idea of what constitutes “mind” and “all things” vary from thinker to thinker. Many proponents are No matter, they agree on 3 things:
1. Mind is something inherent in all things not just people or animals.
2. The mind has at some level an organization or focus to it.
3. Things can be collectives, such as the oceans, or the universe (although made up of other discrete things.
as saying that electrons, or even rocks have thoughts and feelings (sounds a bit like ) and are “driven by existential angst.” (St. Paul again.) But for those adopting panpsychism the notion is that consciousness is ubiquitous and means having some type of subjective experience. “This doesn’t necessarily imply anything as sophisticated as thoughts.”
Of course, in human beings consciousness is a sophisticated thing, involving subtle and complex emotions, thoughts, and sensory experiences. ()
The “” (IMPORTANT LINK!) deals with how the brain gives rise to subjective experience. Studies of various phenomenon (including — most of which I reject) raise the issue of whether consciousness is local (only a brain thing) or non-local (interacting with the brain but not a product of the brain). There is something that it is like to be you. There’s something it’s like to be me. This has led to the thought that consciousness is non-local, existing in the fabric of the universe.
Process Theology
I looked at all this info and it became clear — at least to me — that my theology was deficient. It fell short when it came to cosmology, and how it described God and the Universe. That was when I came across and his disciples who introduced me to Process Theology. I really can’t go through it point by point, here, (not enough time or space), but here are the main :
The concepts of process theology include:
· is not in the sense of being . The divine has a power of persuasion rather than force. Process theologians have often seen the classical doctrine of omnipotence as involving coercion (arguably mistakenly), and themselves claim something more restricted than the classical doctrine.
· Reality is not made up of material substances that endure through time, but serially-ordered events, which are experiential in nature.
· The universe is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of . characterizes everything in the , not just human beings. God cannot force anything to happen, but rather only influence the exercise of this universal free will by offering possibilities.
· God contains the universe but is not identical with it ()
· Because God contains a changing universe, God is changeable (that is to say, God is affected by the actions that take place in the universe) over the course of time. However, the abstract elements of God (, , etc.) remain eternally solid.
· People do not experience a subjective (or personal) , but they do have an objective immortality in that their experiences live on forever in God, who contains all that was.
· , or the idea that our idea of a perfect God cannot be limited to a particular set of characteristics, because perfection can be embodied in opposite characteristics; For instance, for God to be perfect, he cannot have absolute control over all beings, because then he would not be as good as a being who is moved by persuasion, rather than brute force. Thus, for God to be perfect, he must be both powerful and leave other beings some power to resist his persuasion.
Panentheism
The “tie in” for this whole article is the idea of panentheism. I hope the readers can see how all of the pieces come together around it. Once I was introduced to and accepted the notion of panentheism, it offered me a panoramic view of the current notions of physics and philosophy.
is the belief that God is in everything but transcends everything. Unlike , it maintains a distinction between God and the universe. This belief sees God as the divine presence in everything; the , etc. In panentheism, God is in everything, and everything is in God. In pantheism, by contrast, the universe is God.
Disclaimer
I am not a scientist. I do have graduate degrees in Psychology and Theology and a heavily research-based PhD (in social science). I know there are scientists and philosophers who think panpsychism is posh. I know there are theologians (mostly conservative) that roundly reject Process Theology. I write here of my experience and what has spoken more and more to me over the past 45 years. It has been a journey.
Try This
by Robert B. Mellert (ENTIRE BOOK) Dr. Mellert writes about Whiteheadian thought, so a lay person might have a better understanding of the thinking of the founder of process philosophy. IT’S FREE!!!
