This chapter explores about action and quantum whose roots trace back four decades in the field of theology and science. It first discusses methodological issues, including the warrant for a bottom-up approach to action and the problems of the multiple interpretability of quantum and historical relativism. Next it turns to two philosophical issues: the phenomenological domain of the measurement problem and its relation to the indeterministic form of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics. The chapter proposes that a trinitarian doctrine of God is the most suitable context for locating the divine action and quantum mechanics thesis. It finally lays out directions for future research on the philosophical implications of quantum and their relevance for action, including a proposed architecture of philosophical issues, an exploration of implications of Bell's theorem, and a comparison of nonlocality and (in)determinism in Bohm's formulation and the Copenhagen interpretation. Keywords: Copenhagen interpretation; action; quantum
This chapter explores about action and quantum whose roots trace back four decades in the field of theology and science. It first discusses methodological issues, including the warrant for a bottom-up approach to action and the problems of the multiple interpretability of quantum and historical relativism. Next it turns to two philosophical issues: the phenomenological domain of the measurement problem and its relation to the indeterministic form of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics. The chapter proposes that a trinitarian doctrine of God is the most suitable context for locating the divine action and quantum mechanics thesis. It finally lays out directions for future research on the philosophical implications of quantum and their relevance for action, including a proposed architecture of philosophical issues, an exploration of implications of Bell's theorem, and a comparison of nonlocality and (in)determinism in Bohm's formulation and the Copenhagen interpretation. Keywords: Copenhagen interpretation; action; quantum
Theological engagement with quantum physics has, to this day, been dominated by the Copenhagen interpretation. However, philosophers and physicists working in the “quantum foundations” field have largely abandoned the Copenhagen view on account of what is widely seen as its troublesome antirealism. Other metaphysical approaches have come to the fore instead, which often take a strongly realist flavor, such as de Broglie‐Bohm, or Everett's “Many‐Worlds” interpretation. In the spirit of recent quantum foundations work, this article introduces a collection of studies aimed at taking quantum theology “beyond Copenhagen.” The present article advocates a commitment to “quantum fundamentalism,” which could resolve some of the enduring ontological problems faced by existing theological work with quantum mechanics, especially in discussions of quantum special divine action. Taking quantum fundamentalism literally would mean a departure from the Copenhagen interpretation, and the article suggests the need for a new research program to lay the groundwork in the natural theology of quantum foundations.
This paper attempts to review the theories of quantum divine action and to construct a panentheistic approach to noninterventionist divine action. After reviewing various interpretations of quantum mechanics, I have suggested how the Copenhagen Interpretation is the most fruitful place to focus this discussion because of the ontological openness it incorporates. In order to elucidate the relationship between divine action and quantum theory, it is necessary to consider the different understandings of God that have been presupposed by these discussions. I have examined the arguments of four of the major proponents of quantum divine action. I have argued that the panentheistic understanding of God and God's relationship to the universe offers the most promising avenue to a noninterventionist account of God's direct action at the quantum level. After assessing and responding to some of the problems associated with quantum divine action, I have shown that quantum chaos is an attractive prospect since with this proposal it is not necessary for God's action at the quantum level to have macroscopic effects.
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.
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.
This essay explores quantum physics and theology to propose that ontological randomness does not exist, but divine Providence does. Some interpretations of quantum physics that involve mathematical formalism and observational phenomenology are deterministic (de Broglie-Bohm, many-worlds, cosmological, time-symmetric, many-minds), while others are non-deterministic (Copenhagen, stochastic, objective collapse, transactional). Yet, quantum events are merely epistemically indeterminable by us, but actually do have a fundamental cause. Compatibilism best describes the teaching of the Bible. Humans possess free agency, and are determined by their desires and values. Hence, they can be said to have “free will,” because they do what they want. The fundamental cause, as understood by Compatibilism, is God’s Providence, defined as God’s continual involvement with creation through keeping it existing, cooperating with creation in every action, and directing it to fulfill His purposes. The interaction between quantum physics and Providence suggests methodological parallels between science and theology in a quest for synthesis.
Recent articles by Nicholas Saunders, Carl Helrich, and Jeffrey Koperski raise important questions about attempts to make use of quantum mechanics in giving an account of particular divine action in the world. In response, I make two principal points. First, some of the most pointed theological criticisms lose their force if we attend with sufficient care to the limited aims of proposals about divine action at points of quantum indetermination. Second, given the current state of knowledge, it remains an open option to make theological use of an indeterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics. Any such proposal, however, will be an exploratory hypothesis offered in the face of deep uncertainties regarding the measurement problem and the presence in natural systems of amplifiers for quantum effects.