This site documents the Divine Mind:
the Universe that enables us to create ourselves

Contact us: Click to email

page 1: Abstract

In conclusion one has to recall that one reason why the ontological interpretation of [Quantum Field Theory] is so difficult is the fact that it is exceptionally unclear which parts of the formalism should be taken to represent anything physical in the first place. And it looks as if that problem will persist for quite some time. Meinard Kuhlmann (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy): Quantum Field Theory

A physical understanding is completely unmathematical, imprecise, an inexact thing but absolutely necessary to a physicist. Richard Feynman: Lectures on Physics II Chapter 2: Differential Calculus of Vector Fields
Research is to see what everybody has seen and think what nobody has thought. Peter Osper (1957): Review: Albert Szent-Györgyi: Bioenergetics

Quantum mechanics began as a physical theory to explain the spectra of atoms and molecules. Now it is understood as a theory of computation and communication. Theology is the ancient and traditional theory of everything. If the Universe is to be divine, physics and theology must share the same space which means that they must speak the same language. This I understand to be the power of communication and computation implicit in the formalism of quantum theory. Nielsen & Chuang (2016): Quantum Computation and Quantum Information

What follows is my attempt to unite physics and theology in a Universe I understand to be the mind that created us and sustains our lives. My starting point is the intelligent and introspective unmoved mover postulated by Aristotle (384–322 BC). Aristotle: Metaphysics book XII: The life of God: 1072b14 sqq, Unmoved mover - Wikipedia, Michael Bordt (2011): Why Aristotle's God is not the Unmoved Mover

My basic hypothesis is that physicists have put the cart before the horse. They treat quadratic Minkowski space, relativity and continuous arithmetic as the foundation of physics. The actual foundation appears to be the Hilbert space and linear operators which define the structure of the Universe. These structures draw energy from gravitation to create the spacetime and particulate personal content of the classical world of our experience. Persona - Wikipedia

Copyright:

You may copy this material freely provided only that you quote fairly and provide a link (or reference) to your source.

Notes and references

Further reading

Books

Nielsen (2016), Michael A., and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press 2016 Review: A rigorous, comprehensive text on quantum information is timely. The study of quantum information and computation represents a particularly direct route to understanding quantum mechanics. Unlike the traditional route to quantum mechanics via Schroedinger's equation and the hydrogen atom, the study of quantum information requires no calculus, merely a knowledge of complex numbers and matrix multiplication. In addition, quantum information processing gives direct access to the traditionally advanced topics of measurement of quantum systems and decoherence.' Seth Lloyd, Department of Quantum Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Nature 6876: vol 416 page 19, 7 March 2002. 
Amazon
  back

Links

Aristotle: Metaphysics book XII, The life of God: 1072b14 sqq, 'Such, then, is the first principle upon which depend the sensible universe and the world of nature. And its life is like the best which we temporarily enjoy. It must be in that state always (which for us is impossible), since its actuality is also pleasure. . . . .If, then, the happiness which God always enjoys is as great as that which we enjoy sometimes, it is marvellous; and if it is greater, this is still more marvellous. Nevertheless it is so. Moreover, life belongs to God. For the actuality of thought is life, and God is that actuality; and the essential actuality of God is life most good and eternal. We hold, then, that God is a living being, eternal, most good; and therefore life and a continuous eternal existence belong to God; for that is what God is.' back

Feynman, Leighton and Sands FLP II_02, Chapter 2: Differential Calculus of Vector Fields, ' Ideas such as the field lines, capacitance, resistance, and inductance are, for such purposes, very useful. So we will spend much of our time analyzing them. In this way we will get a feel as to what should happen in different electromagnetic situations. On the other hand, none of the heuristic models, such as field lines, is really adequate and accurate for all situations. There is only one precise way of presenting the laws, and that is by means of differential equations. They have the advantage of being fundamental and, so far as we know, precise. If you have learned the differential equations you can always go back to them. There is nothing to unlearn.' back

Meinard Kuhlmann (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), Quantum Field Theory, ' Quantum Field Theory (QFT) is the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physics. In a rather informal sense QFT is the extension of quantum mechanics (QM), dealing with particles, over to fields, i.e. systems with an infinite number of degrees of freedom. (See the entry on quantum mechanics.) In the last few years QFT has become a more widely discussed topic in philosophy of science, with questions ranging from methodology and semantics to ontology. QFT taken seriously in its metaphysical implications seems to give a picture of the world which is at variance with central classical conceptions of particles and fields, and even with some features of QM.' back

Michael Bordt (2011), Why Aristotle's God is not the Unmoved Mover, ' The aim of this essay is to show that the view—popular among certain philosophers and theologians—that Aristotle’s God is the unmoved mover is incorrect, or at least leads to serious misunderstanding. In a nutshell: among other things, the project of the twelfth book of the Metaphysics is to determine what the first ousia is. This first ousia is not identified with God in so far as it is an unmoved mover, but in so far as it is the actual activity (energeia) of thinking. To put matters differently, the actual activity of the first ousia does not consist in moving anything. Its activity rather consists in the exercise of reason, in thinking. Since, however, thinking is without qualification the best activity, and since God is that being who just does engage in the best activity, the first ousia, in so far as it is the same as the activity of thinking, must be God. Thus we perhaps expect that, at the summit of ontology, God himself will be the object of this first philosophy. Metaphysics Λ meets such an expectation only in a very limited way. The limitation is the following: that which, so to speak, stands at the summit of metaphysics is not God, but the activity of reason. While this activity is identified with God, it is not so identified directly or immediately, but only as mediated by way of the conception of the best possible life. The twelfth book of the Metaphysics thus provides to an even lesser extent than is usually assumed the outlines of a theology. By way of recompense, however, Aristotle offers us a truly breathtaking metaphysics.' back

Persona - Wikipedia, Persona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. It is also considered "an intermediary between the individual and the institution." Persona studies is an academic field developed by communication and media scholars. The term “persona” has been discussed by sociologists Robert Park and Erving Goffman in the 1950s. It is a tool to become persons by constructing the conception of our role and connecting the inner conception to the outer world as individuals. Yet, the terminology of identity and personae has been applied loosely and both imply the impressions of self and social performances in their works.' back

Peter Osper (1957), Review: Albert Szent-Györgyi (1957): Bioenergetics, ' Everyone who is interested in biological chemistry will want to read and reread this book, and then design some experiments to prove Szent-Györgyi: right or wrong. One gets the impression that Szent-Györgyi will not be too unhappy to be proved wrong. . . .' In 1957 the scientist Albert Szent-Györgyi released this book which contained a part titled “Biological Structures and Functions”. The following statement without attribution was employed as an epigraph for this part (page 56): https://archive.org/details/bioenergetics00szen/page/57/mode/1up “Research is to see what everybody has seen and think what nobody has thought.” back

Unmoved mover - Wikipedia, Unmoved mover - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The unmoved mover (Ancient Greek: ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, lit. 'that which moves without being moved' or prime mover (Latin: primum movens) is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cause) or "mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the unmoved mover moves other things, but is not itself moved by any prior action. In Book 12 (Greek: Λ) of his Metaphysics, Aristotle describes the unmoved mover as being perfectly beautiful, indivisible, and contemplating only the perfect contemplation: self-contemplation. He equates this concept also with the active intellect. This Aristotelian concept had its roots in cosmological speculations of the earliest Greek pre-Socratic philosophers and became highly influential and widely drawn upon in medieval philosophy and theology. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, elaborated on the unmoved mover in the Quinque viae. ' back

 
 

https://www.cognitivecosmology.com is maintained by The Theology Company Proprietary Limited ACN 097 887 075 ABN 74 097 887 075 Copyright 2000-2024 © Jeffrey Nicholls