Does God Cheat at Dice? Divine Action and Quantum Possibilities

The recent debates concerning divine action in the context of quantum mechanics are examined with particular reference to the work of William Pollard, Robert J. Russell, Thomas Tracy, Nancey Murphy, and Keith Ward. The concept of a quantum mechanical “event” is elucidated and shown to be at the cent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zygon
Main Author: Saunders, Nicholas T. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2000
In: Zygon
Further subjects:B Indeterminism
B wavefunction collapse
B quantum mechanics
B Determinism
B Providence
B quantum event
B measurement process
B Divine Action
B Schrödinger's Cat
B hidden variable
B projection postulate
B Physics
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Summary:The recent debates concerning divine action in the context of quantum mechanics are examined with particular reference to the work of William Pollard, Robert J. Russell, Thomas Tracy, Nancey Murphy, and Keith Ward. The concept of a quantum mechanical “event” is elucidated and shown to be at the center of this debate. An attempt is made to clarify the claims made by the protagonists of quantum mechanical divine action by considering the measurement process of quantum mechanics in detail. Four possibilities for divine influence on quantum mechanics are identified and the theological and scientific implications of each discussed. The conclusion reached is that quantum mechanics is not easily reconciled with the doctrine of divine action.
ISSN:1467-9744
Contains:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/0591-2385.00295