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GreekMartingale
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 26th, 2008, 11:07 pm

To all physicists and other related and literate on physics unlike my self.I have been discussing the idea that a real hard scientist can also be a strong believer in any religion. The others claim that a physicist believing in quantum mechanics is not supposed to believe. So i am asking does quantum theory have strong indications about the philosophical inability of a superior being to exist? Does the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics lay the ground for such reasoning?
 
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Fermion
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 26th, 2008, 11:47 pm

Nothing in any science says anything about any entity that exists outside of the science itself. It would be self-contradiction if it did.So nothing in any science can say anything about any entity outside of the natural universe since science is limited to the natural universe.As soon as you start to believe you know anything about any entity outside of science, then you are no longer thinking as a scientist.Religion and science are two different worlds. There is no bridge between them.Religion requires belief without doubt, even in spite of the evidence, if necessary. Science requires evidence for any claim to knowledge, however provisional.Religion defies logic. Science demands it.Physics, including quantum mechanics is science. The Copenhagen interpretation says nothing about religion or any superior being.
 
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Traden4Alpha
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 29th, 2008, 11:26 am

I don't think one can separate religion and science on anything by a very shallow level because both make claims about the history of the world, the consequences of action in the world, and the potential dynamics of systems in the world. Both speak to increasingly overlapping aspects of human affairs. The entire creationist debate is a clear of example of a particular religion making particular claims in contradiction to science.Moreover, the methods of science, in theorizing and explaining forces and phenomena, would insist on including the effects of any deities on the world. If a physical theory fails due to the intervention of a deity, then a scientist would insist on modifying the theory to encompass and explain the deity. That is, no deity can be outside the laws of physics unless the deity has entirely decoupled itself from the current universe (which is possible under some "hands-off" of "build-and-let-go" theologies). In that regard, any aspect of quantum mechanics that binds the hands of the deity can serve as a detector of the omniscience/omnipotence of a deity (e.g., can a deity successfully snoop on a quantum cryptographic signal without collapsing the wave function?)Even on "human" matters, science encroaches in seeking to explain the biological basis for social (and asocial) behavior. By understanding the human brain, the evolution of social behavior, and the properties of distributed/social networks of agents, scientists can understand why people act the way that they do (including belief in religion) and the consequences of alternative actions in human societies. Such work creates a scientific basis for moral and ethical action that potentially supplants religious coda for behavior.In fact, give the predilection for sectarian violence, the only truly moral and ethical path for human development is actively pursue a universal science to supplant parochial religions.
 
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ChicagoGuy
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 29th, 2008, 3:33 pm

I dont think the bible and quantum mechanics are compatible. Now believing in *a* god and quantum mechanics can go hand in hand
 
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Cuchulainn
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 29th, 2008, 3:42 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: ChicagoGuyNow believing in *a* god and quantum mechanics can go hand in handA possible conflict could occur if you assume your god is anthropomorphic. If not, the two are independent.
Last edited by Cuchulainn on September 28th, 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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farmer
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 29th, 2008, 3:43 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaIn fact, give the predilection for sectarian violence, the only truly moral and ethical path for human development is actively pursue a universal science to supplant parochial religions.You begin with the Western Christian - in fact Jesus-like - assumption that individual human lives are valuable.Among tribes of savages, sectarian violence is a thing to celebrate. You have been indoctrinated with Western Jesus-think.
 
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Fermion
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 29th, 2008, 4:43 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerQuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaIn fact, give the predilection for sectarian violence, the only truly moral and ethical path for human development is actively pursue a universal science to supplant parochial religions.You begin with the Western Christian - in fact Jesus-like - assumption that individual human lives are valuable.Among tribes of savages, sectarian violence is a thing to celebrate. You have been indoctrinated with Western Jesus-think.So before Jesus, no mother would ever have nurtured their child? No father would ever try to feed his family and no "tribe of savages" would ever look after each other? Is that right?
Last edited by Fermion on September 28th, 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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quantmeh
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Quantum mechanics and god

September 29th, 2008, 4:51 pm

anyone who has grad level training in physics would not be able to believe in literal interpretation of any holy book out there. scientists come up with weird ways to justify their following any religion. they put more into what's actually there in the scriptures
 
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Cuchulainn
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Re: Quantum mechanics and god

February 4th, 2023, 7:22 pm

Rename Trinity's Schrödinger Theater .. a modest proposal

https://www.change.org/p/trinity-colleg ... ile-please