It is widely accepted that quantum theory predicts an indeterminism for the micro-processes of the physical realm, i.e. a future uncertainty that transcends mechanical necessity. What this indeterminism means ontologically has been debated for nearly a century. According to one of the theses put forward during this time, the uncertainties that are assumed to be present in every phenomenon and the microscopic coincidences that statistically coincide with them are not the ultimate reality, but rather quantum uncertainty has a metaphysical behind-the-scenes, namely the existence of a God who actively ordains and creates the concrete outcome of every micro phenomenon. It is from this indeterminacy that the “quantum divine action” models, especially those put forward by Christian scientists and philosophers with the intention of reconciling modern science with the concept of a creator God, start. This article analyses the natural philosophy of the Muslim theoretical physicist and scholar of Islamic Kalām theology Basil Altaie, which can be interpreted as a quantum divine action model based on Islamic theology. Altaie’s approach is here discussed from different philosophical and theological perspectives and compared with Christian approaches.
It is widely accepted that quantum theory predicts an indeterminism for the micro-processes of the physical realm, i.e. a future uncertainty that transcends mechanical necessity. What this indeterminism means ontologically has been debated for nearly a century. According to one of the theses put forward during this time, the uncertainties that are assumed to be present in every phenomenon and the microscopic coincidences that statistically coincide with them are not the ultimate reality, but rather quantum uncertainty has a metaphysical behind-the-scenes, namely the existence of a God who actively ordains and creates the concrete outcome of every micro phenomenon. It is from this indeterminacy that the “quantum divine action” models, especially those put forward by Christian scientists and philosophers with the intention of reconciling modern science with the concept of a creator God, start. This article analyses the natural philosophy of the Muslim theoretical physicist and scholar of Islamic Kalām theology Basil Altaie, which can be interpreted as a quantum divine action model based on Islamic theology. Altaie’s approach is here discussed from different philosophical and theological perspectives and compared with Christian approaches.
Divine action in the world is one of the important problematic questions in contemporary philosophy of religion. After new inventions in modern physics during 20’th century some of the scholars claimed that in spite of classical physics in which physical laws constrain divine actions, in modern physics, uncertainty principle could explain and justify God intervention in the world. But quantum mechanics had produced big challenges in ontology and had not straightforward metaphysics and resulted to different interpretations, each suggesting different way to explain divine actions. Bohmian interpretation of quantum mechanics regarding his special metaphysical ideas like implicate order, holomovement and holism presenting novel perspective on this issue. This article investigate relation between Bohmian interpretation of quantum mechanics and divine actions in the world and shows its capacities on this issue.
Der weithin akzeptierte Indeterminismus in den Mikroprozessen der Quantentheorie wurde oft als mögliche Schnittstelle zwischen der von Naturgesetzen bestimmten Erfahrungswelt und einem aktiv in der Welt wirkenden Schöpfergott diskutiert. Die Quantum-Divine-Action-Modelle, die vor allem von christlichen Naturwissenschaftlern und Religionsphilosophen entwickelt wurden, beruhen auf dieser Idee. In diesem Artikel wird die islamisch geprägte Naturphilosophie des muslimischen Physikers Basil Altaie untersucht, die ebenfalls den Quantum-Divine-Action-Modellen zugeordnet werden kann. Altaie stützt sich dabei auf die atomistische Metaphysik der islamischen Kalām-Theologen und präsentiert eine neue Interpretation dieser Metaphysik im Licht der modernen Quantentheorie. Das Ergebnis ist eine Synthese aus Kalām-Theologie und Philosophie der Quantentheorie, die in diesem Artikel unter verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten untersucht wird.
This article aims to explore the striking conceptual parallels that exist between the fundamental principles of modern quantum mechanics and the deep ontological concepts of Islamic and Sufi metaphysics.The research focuses on such fundamental concepts of modern physics as the propagation of light by quanta, superposition, the uncertainty principle, quantum entanglement, the holographic principle and the quantum vacuum.These concepts are analyzed in a comparative manner with expressions such as the verse of the Light (24:35) in the Holy Quran, the creation command "Kun fayaqun" (Be and be) (36:82) and "Every moment He is in a new matter" (55:29), as well as with complex Sufi concepts such as Ibn al-Arabi's "wahdati-wujud" (unity of being), "nafs ar-Rahman" (breath of the Most Gracious), "aʿyān as-sabītā" (fixed truths) and "tajalli" (manifestation).The article also interprets the "light-image-mirror" model in Suhrawardi's Ishraq philosophy and Imam Ghazzali's "Mishkat al-Anwar" (The Lamp of Lights), quantum phenomena such as photons, the measurement problem and the collapse of the wave function in an analogous framework.The study aims to build a heuristic bridge between these two different languages, by bringing together the cognitive maps presented by mystical texts and the mathematical models of quantum theory, rather than directly claiming identity.This approach, on the one hand, increases the potential of theological cognition to establish a dialogue with modern science and on the other hand, creates a conceptual basis for rereading and deeply understanding topics such as quantum information, holography and "continuous creation" (creatio continua) in the context of Islamic cosmology.This article, deepening the general framework formed in the author's research over the years, especially focusing on Islamic and Sufi mysticism, proposes a new synthesis in the field of science and philosophy of religion.
The common understanding of Copenhagen interpretation of the uncertainty principle and indeterminism in quantum physics is that it is a negation of causal relationships. Having the relationship between the existence of God and causality in mind, some advocates of ontological naturalism assert that by negating causality in modern physics, there remains no room for belief in God as the necessary cause of the world and His actions in it. To examine this claim, I will explain briefly the quantum theory, Copenhagen interpretation of uncertainty principle, and its epistemological position. Next, I will investigate its relationship with causality and divine actions. The article concludes that not only is there no conflict between Copenhagen interpretation and causality, but the former is based on the latter and has complete coherence with the belief in God and His actions in the world. Compared to classical physics, its consistency with direct and special divine actions in the world is more.
The main idea consists in researching the existence of certain characteristics of nature similar to human reasonability and purposeful actions, originating and rigorously inferable from the postulates of quantum mechanics as well as from those of special and general relativity. The pathway of the “free-will theorems” proved by Conway and Kochen in 2006 and 2009 is followed and pioneered further. Those natural reasonability and teleology are identified as a special subject called “God” and studyable by “quantum theology”, a scientific counterpart of classical theology as far as the latter endeavors to justify rationally God (without quotation marks) postulated by religion, but meaning in the present study, first of all, Christianity. The suggested “quantum theology” is situated in the historical opposition and conflict of science and religion in Modernity and its reflection in Heidegger’s conception of “ontotheology”. The conception of “ontomathematics” introduced in previous papers to unite and unify physics, mathematics, and philosophy is reinterpreted in the present context to be conservatively generalized in a way to include “quantum theology”. Two conceptions, “locality” and “nonlocality”, originating initially from physics and especially, from theory of entanglement and quantum information, are also generalized ontomathematically, and thus in relation to the newly introduced “quantum theology”. The “quantum theology” subject of “God” is juxtaposed with God of religion and billions of believers all over the world. Husserl’s conception of “philosophy as a rigorous science” is considered to be generalized now to theology as quantum theology, particularly by the phenomenon (in the sense of his “phenomenology”) of “God”, or by an “epoché” to whether God exists or not. The research of the phenomenon of “God” is extended to the conception of the “totality” being inherent for philosophy, especially for classical German philosophy preceding Husserl’s phenomenology. Those sequences for philosophy implied by the introduction of quantum theology are investigated further, on the pathway of ontomathematics, also in relation to what “God” should mean for today’s physics and mathematics. The option and research field of “experimental quantum theology” is discussed as a direct corollary from quantum theology though being sacrilegious as for classical theology. The concluding section reflects in a more loose way on the relation of “God” for quantum theology to God for religion and billions of believers all over the world.
This paper introduces a new philosophical and scientific framework called Quantum Ontology, which integrates quantum mechanics and metaphysics to explore the possibility of a probabilistic God. Moving beyond deterministic paradigms, it investigates how quantum indeterminacy, probability amplitudes, and the collapse of wave functions challenge classical understandings of causality, order, and divine omniscience. The central thesis posits that if the foundation of physical reality is probabilistic, then any concept of divinity that aligns with it must also reflect this probabilistic nature. The work synthesizes insights from physics, philosophy, theology, and cosmology to construct an original view of a God who is not the controller of certainties but the ground of all lawful possibilities.The author acknowledges the use of OpenAI’s language model for assistance in drafting certain sections of this work.