Guest Thinkers — January 8, 2011

Quantum Mechanics & Faith

The notion that physics might have metaphysical meaning for human beings is as old as physics itself. Today, is there such thing as quantum spirituality?

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No less a figure than Einstein invoked the notion of what he called “cosmic religion.” It would need to ask questions such as whether the universe is friendly towards us, the father of the new physics mused. And the new physics of the 20th century has certainly sparked a welter of speculation as to whether the meaning of life is written in the stars. Are the laws of nature transcendent, like God? Does the fine-tuning of various fundamental constants suggest that the universe is right for life, for us? Is consciousness as basic a feature of things as quarks and photons?

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