Sunday, July 30, 2017

Physics, Determinism, Divine Omnipotence

Whether or not it is true, "God does not play dice with the universe" is misformulated, perhaps as a reflection of ignorance. For, Einstein's referent is the object of the study initiated by Newton.  Now, according to the latter, that object, the physical world, is created ex nihilo by a deity, a creation that consists in setting it in motion, after which there is no further divine intervention.  In other words, implied in that Theological thesis is that the Determinism of the physical world reflects the omnipotence of its creator.  So, Einstein's refusal to accept the apparent indeterminacies of Quantum Physics is, first and foremost, a reaction to an implicit challenge to the omnipotence of the Newtonian deity.  Furthermore, since there is no post-creation involvement of the deity in the creation, if there is any moment when dice-playing would not occur, it is in the distant past.  Thus, a well-informed reaction to the apparent Quantum phenomena would be "God did not play dice with the universe".  This looseness of Einstein's formulation is perhaps an example of the general unawareness of the continuing influence of Medieval Theology, even on its presumed antithesis, Modern Science.

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