Freethought & Rationalism Archive

06-21-2003, 08:16 AM

I was at Chapters in Canada the other day and saw a book by Paul Davies "God and the New Physics." He also has another one, "The Mind of God"

Are these books by a theist? What exactly are Paul Davies beliefs?

I didn't have time to look through the books, but I do have an interest of sorts in cosmology.

Thanks

Kevin

AndresDeLaHoz · 06-21-2003, 08:59 AM

I read "mind of god", but I can't remember much of it. It was some strange thing about computer super processing and some other bizarre crap. I think Davies is agnostic, though I'm not sure.

Wyz_sub10 · 06-21-2003, 10:17 PM

He's definitely "spritual". I suppose "agnostic" works, as far as he's concerned.

Not all of his books have that bent, though. I've read "About Time" and it's actually a very interesting book.

Evangelion · 06-22-2003, 11:21 AM

Davies is a somewhat constrained agnostic.

In The Mind of God, he concludes:

The central theme that I have explored in this book is that, through science, we human beings are able to grasp at least some of nature's secrets. We have cracked part of the cosmic code. Why this should be so, just why Homo sapiens should carry the spark of rationality that provides the key to the universe, is a deep enigma.

We, who are children of the universe - animated stardust - can nevertheless reflect on the nature of the same universe, even to the extent of glimpsing rules on which it runs. How we have become linked into this cosmic dimension is a mystery. Yet the linkage cannot be denied.

What does it mean? What is Man that we might be party to such privilege? I cannot believe that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate, an accident of history, an incidental blip in the great cosmic drama. Our involvement is too intimate. The physical species Homo may count for nothing, but the existence of mind in some organism on some planet in the universe is surely a fact of fundamental significance.

A brief biography can be found here.

Secular Pinoy · 06-25-2003, 07:05 PM

I think he's a weak atheist / agnostic who likes to play around with the god idea. At least, that's my impression of him from his book The Fifth Miracle.

echidna · 06-26-2003, 11:17 PM

From, http://www.meta-library.net/ghc-bb/analy-body.html

Quote:

It is very tempting for a theist to make the move which Paul Davies makes when he writes:

Is it easier to believe in a cosmic designer than the multiplicity of universes necessary for the weak anthropic principle to work? ... Perhaps future developments in science will lead to more direct evidence for other universes, but until then, the seemingly miraculous concurrence of numerical values that nature has assigned to her fundamental constants must remain the most compelling evidence for an element of cosmic design.

I�ve seen him variously described as a theist & an agnostic, but never an atheist or even a weak atheist. IIRC several other of his quotes also indicate a tendency to suspect theism, but either way he's quite reluctant to make a clear stand on the issue and it's a question which many people (as myself ?) are more willing to answer for him. Davies might even be an agnostic deist with liberal Christian sympathies, maybe not so dissimilar from myself FTM.

Another from here ... http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billc...igliucci1.html

Quote:

The one-time agnostic physicist Paul Davies comments, "Through my scientific work I have come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a brute fact."

06-21-2003, 08:16 AM	#1
TheDiddleyMan Guest Posts: n/a	Paul Davies books.... I was at Chapters in Canada the other day and saw a book by Paul Davies "God and the New Physics." He also has another one, "The Mind of God" Are these books by a theist? What exactly are Paul Davies beliefs? I didn't have time to look through the books, but I do have an interest of sorts in cosmology. Thanks Kevin

06-22-2003, 11:21 AM	#4
Evangelion Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Walsall, UK Posts: 1,490	Davies is a somewhat constrained agnostic. In The Mind of God, he concludes: The central theme that I have explored in this book is that, through science, we human beings are able to grasp at least some of nature's secrets. We have cracked part of the cosmic code. Why this should be so, just why Homo sapiens should carry the spark of rationality that provides the key to the universe, is a deep enigma. We, who are children of the universe - animated stardust - can nevertheless reflect on the nature of the same universe, even to the extent of glimpsing rules on which it runs. How we have become linked into this cosmic dimension is a mystery. Yet the linkage cannot be denied. What does it mean? What is Man that we might be party to such privilege? I cannot believe that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate, an accident of history, an incidental blip in the great cosmic drama. Our involvement is too intimate. The physical species Homo may count for nothing, but the existence of mind in some organism on some planet in the universe is surely a fact of fundamental significance. A brief biography can be found here.

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06-21-2003, 08:59 AM	#2
AndresDeLaHoz Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 567	I read "mind of god", but I can't remember much of it. It was some strange thing about computer super processing and some other bizarre crap. I think Davies is agnostic, though I'm not sure.

06-21-2003, 10:17 PM	#3
Wyz_sub10 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the land of two boys and no sleep. Posts: 9,890	He's definitely "spritual". I suppose "agnostic" works, as far as he's concerned. Not all of his books have that bent, though. I've read "About Time" and it's actually a very interesting book.

06-25-2003, 07:05 PM	#5
Secular Pinoy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Quezon City, Philippines Posts: 1,994	I think he's a weak atheist / agnostic who likes to play around with the god idea. At least, that's my impression of him from his book The Fifth Miracle.

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