John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, PhD, ScD, MA, (born October 16, 1930 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is a British particle physicist and theologian. He has written extensively on matters concerning science and faith, and was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2002. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... Doctor of Philosophy (from Greek , meaning Teacher of Philosophy), typically abbreviated Ph. ... D.Sc. ... The degree of Master of Arts degree is an undergraduate degree awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as by the University of Dublin. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Weston-super-Mare is an English seaside resort town in North Somerset, population 65,000 (1991 estimate). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Thousands of particles explode from the collision point of two relativistic (100 GeV per nucleon) gold ions in the STAR detector of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities was until 2001 awarded for Progress in Religion. ...

Biography

He was educated at The Perse School, Cambridge. Following National Service in the Royal Army Educational Corps from 1948 to 1949, John Polkinghorne studied at Trinity College, Cambridge (receiving his MA in 1956) and then defended his doctorate in physics in 1955, studying under the quantum physicist Paul Dirac. For 25 years, Polkinghorne was a theoretical physicist, working on theories of elementary particles. From 1968 to 1979 he was Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University, and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1974. He was Chairman of the Governors of The Perse School from 1972 to 1981. The Perse School is a fee-paying secondary day school for boys 11–18 and girls at 16+ situated in Cambridge, England. ... is a common name for compulsory or voluntary military service programs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names King’s Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... Fig. ... Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS (IPA: [dɪræk]) (August 8, 1902 – October 20, 1984) was a British theoretical physicist and a founder of the field of quantum physics. ... Mathematical physics is the scientific discipline concerned with the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and for the formulation of physical theories1. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The Perse School is a fee-paying secondary day school for boys 11–18 and girls at 16+ situated in Cambridge, England. ...

He resigned his professorial chair to study for the Church of England ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge, becoming ordained an Anglican priest in 1982. After five years in parochial ministry, Polkinghorne returned to Cambridge to be Dean of Chapel at Trinity Hall, 1986-1989. He then became the President of Queens' College, Cambridge, a position from which he retired in 1996. In 1997 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and in 2002 was awarded the Templeton Prize for his contributions to research at the interface between science and religion. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Westcott House Cambridge. ... The term Anglican (from Medieval Latin ecclesia anglicana, meaning the English Church) is used to describe the people, institutions and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the established Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Churches (a loosely affiliated group of... Roman Catholic priests in clerical clothing. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... This article is about Cambridge, England; see also other places called Cambridge. ... Full name College of Scholars of the Holy Trinity of Norwich Motto - Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names - Established 1350 Sister College(s) University College All Souls College Master Prof. ... Full name The Queens College of Saint Margaret and Saint Bernard in the University of Cambridge Motto Floreat Domus May this House Flourish Named after - Previous names - Established 1448 Sister College(s) Pembroke College President Lord Eatwell Location Silver Street Undergraduates 490 Postgraduates 270 Homepage Boatclub The Gatehouse, as... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities was until 2001 awarded for Progress in Religion. ...

Polkinghorne has been a member of the BMA Medical Ethics Committee, the General Synod of the Church of England, the Doctrine Commission, and the Human Genetics Commission. He is a current Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge and Canon Theologian of Liverpool Cathedral. He is a founding member of the Society of Ordained Scientists and also of the International Society for Science and Religion, of which he was the first President. Polkinghorne was selected to give the prestigious Gifford Lectures in 1993-4, which he later published as The Faith of a Physicist. He has an official website including a questions-and-answers page where people from all over the world send him questions on science and religion. The logo of the association. ... The General Synod is the governing body of the Church of England, a church within the Anglican Communion. ... The Human Genetics Commission is an independent body that advises the UK government on the ethical and social aspects of genetics. ... North elevation of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. ... The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford (d. ...

In 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Hong Kong Baptist University as part of their 50-year celebrations. This included a public lecture on “The Dialogue between Science and Religion and Its Significance for the Academy” and an “East-West Dialogue with Prof. Yang Chen-ning, Nobel Laureate in Physics"[1] Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) (Traditional Chinese: 香港浸會大學) is a public-funded tertiary institution with Christian education heritage. ... Dr. Chen Ning Franklin YANG Chen Ning Franklin YANG (楊振寧 pinyin: Yáng Zhènníng) (born September 22, 1922) is a Chinese American physicist, who worked on statistical mechanics and symmetry principles. ...

Philosophical outlook

He describes his view of the world as Critical Realism and believes strongly that there is One World, with science and religion both addressing aspects of the same reality. Because scientific experiments work very hard to eliminate extraneous influences, he believes that they are thus highly atypical of what goes on in nature. He suggests that the mechanistic explanations of the world which have continued from Laplace to Richard Dawkins should be replaced by an understanding that most of nature is cloud-like rather than clock-like. He also regards the mind, soul and body as different aspects of the same underlying reality - "dual aspect monism" "there is only one stuff in the world (not two - the material and the mental) but it can occur in two contrasting states (material and mental phases, a physicist might say) which explain our perception of the difference between mind and matter"^[1]. He believes that standard physical causation cannot adequately describe the manifold ways in which things and people interact, and uses the suggestive phrase "active information" to indicate his belief that when, energetically, many possible outcomes are possible, there may be higher levels of causation that choose which occurs. In the philosophy of perception, critical realism is the theory that some of our sense-data (for example, those of primary qualities) can and do accurately represent external objects, properties, and events, while other of our sense-data (for example, those of secondary qualities and perceptual illusions) do not accurately... Pierre-Simon Laplace Pierre-Simon Laplace (March 23, 1749 – March 5, 1827) was a French mathematician and astronomer, the discoverer of the Laplace transform and Laplaces equation. ... Dr. Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ...

On the existence of God

Polkinghorne considers that "the question of the existence of God is the single most important question we face about the nature of reality" ^[2] and quotes with approval Anthony Kenny: "After all, if there is no God, then God is incalculably the greatest single creation of the human imagination." He addresses the questions of "Does the concept of God make sense? If so, do we have reason for believing in such a thing?" Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny (born 1931) is an English philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, scholastic and ancient philosophy, the philosophy of Wittgenstein and the philosophy of religion. ...

Polkinghorne is "cautious about our powers to assess coherence," pointing out that in 1900 a "competent ... undergraduate could have demonstrated the 'incoherence'" of quantum ideas. He suggests that "the nearest analogy in the physical world [to God] would be ... the Quantum Vacuum."

He suggests that God is the ultimate answer to Liebniz's great question "why is there something rather than nothing?" The atheist's "plain assertion of the world's existence" is a "grossly impoverished view of reality," he says, arguing that "theism explains more than a reductionist atheism can ever address." He is very doubtful about St Anselm's "breathtaking" Ontological Argument. "If we cannot prove the consistency of arithmetic^[3] it seems a bit much to hope that God's existence is easier to deal with," concluding that God is "ontologically necessary, but not logically necessary." Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (July 1, 1646 in Leipzig - November 14, 1716 in Hannover) was a German philosopher, scientist, mathematician, diplomat, librarian, and lawyer of Sorb descent. ... Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 or 1034 - April 21, 1109), a widely influential medieval philosopher and theologian, held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. ... An ontological argument for the existence of God is an argument that Gods existence can be proved a priori, that is, by intuition and reason alone. ...

He "does not assert that God's existence can be demonstrated in a logically coercive way (any more than God's non-existence can) but that theism makes more sense of the world, and of human experience, than does atheism" ^[4]. He cites in particular:

• The intelligibility of the universe: One would anticipate that evolutionary selection would produce hominid minds apt for coping with everyday experience, but that these minds should also be able to understand the subatomic world and general relativity goes far beyond anything of relevance to survival fitness. The mystery deepens when one recognises the proven fruitfulness of mathematical beauty as a guide to successful theory choice.^[5]

• The anthropic fine tuning of the universe: He quotes with approval Freeman Dyson, who said "the more I examine the universe and the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known we were coming" ^[6] and suggests there is a wide consensus amongst physicists that either there are a very large number of other universes in the Multiverse or that "there is just one universe which is the way it is in its anthropic fruitfulness because it is the expression of the purposive design of a Creator, who has endowed it with the finely tuned potentialty for life. ^[7]

• A wider humane reality: He considers that theism offers a more persuasive account of ethical and aesthetic perceptions. He argues that it is difficult to accommodate the idea that "we have real moral knowledge" and that "statements such as 'torturing children is wrong' are more than "simply social conventions of the societies within which they are uttered" within an atheistic or naturalistic worldview. He also believes such a world-view finds it hard to explain how "Something of lasting significance is glimpsed in the beauty of the natural world and the beauty of the fruits of human creativity" ^[8]

Richard Dawkins said of Polkinghorne that he is one of a number of "good scientists who are sincerely religious", but says "I remain baffled . . . by their belief in the details of the Christian religion"^[9] The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. ... Freeman John Dyson (born December 15, 1923) is an English-born physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum mechanics, nuclear weapons design and policy, and for his serious theorizing in futurism and science fiction concepts, including the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. ... A multiverse is a set of many universes. ... Dr. Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ...

On freewill and free process

Polkinghorne regards the problem of evil as the most serious intellectual objection to the existence of God. He believes that "The well-known free will defence in relation to moral evil asserts that a world with a possibility of sinful people is better than one with perfectly programmed machines. The tale of human evil is such that one cannot make that assertion without a quiver, but I believe that it is true nevertheless. I have added to it the free-process defence, that a world allowed to make itself is better than a puppet theatre with a Cosmic Tyrant. I think that these two defences are opposite sides of the same coin, that our nature is inextricably linked with that of the physical world which has given us birth."^[10] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

References

In mathematical logic, Gödels incompleteness theorems are two celebrated theorems proven by Kurt Gödel in 1931. ...

Publications

Polkinghorne has written more than 15 books concerning science and religion for a popular audience, including:

• The Way the World is : The Christian Perspective of a Scientist (1992) ISBN 0-281-04597-6
• Quarks, Chaos and Christianity (1994) ISBN 0-281-04779-0
• The Faith of a Physicist - published in the UK as Science and Christian Belief (1994) ISBN 0-691-03620-9
• Scientists as Theologians (1996) ISBN 0-281-04945-9
• Science & Theology (1998) ISBN 0-8006-3153-6
• Belief in God in an Age of Science (2000) ISBN 0-300-08003-4
• Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction (2002) ISBN 0-19-280252-6
• Science and the Trinity: The Christian Encounter With Reality (2004) ISBN 0-300-10445-6 (a particularly accessible summary of his thought)
• Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science & Religion (SPCK 2005) ISBN 0-300-11014-6

He has also written two technical science books: The Way the World is: Christian Perspective of a Scientist is a book first published in 1983 by the Rev Dr John Polkinghorne, who was a Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. ... Media:rofl. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• The Analytic S-Matrix (CUP 1966, jointly with RJ Eden, PV Landshoff and DI Olive)
• Models of High Energy Processes (CUP 1980)

External links

• Official website
• Some Polkinghorne quotes
• Video interview
• Video interview by Robert Wright for meaningoflife.tv