Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World

by Paul C.W. Davies

Book Overview

Physicist Paul Davies considers the human curiosity of the reason for existence of the universe and explores whether modern science can provide the key that will unlock this last secret.

In his quest for an ultimate explanation, physicist Paul Davies reexamines the great questions that have preoccupied humankind for millennia, and in the process explores, among other topics, the origin and evolution of the cosmos, the nature of life...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671797182
• ISBN13: 9780671797188
• Release Date: March 1993
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Can one know the mind of God?

Paul Davies book, `The Mind of God', is a follow-up to is book, `God and the New Physics.'Davies explores in more depth and detail the philosophical implications of modern physics and how the theories and ideas of modern physics can help in the understanding (and occasionally, deepen the confusion) of ideas that have been in the traditional purview of philosophy and theology. In this respect, science has a basic question that comes to the root of all systems of thought -- why?`Scientists themselves normally take it for granted that we live in a rational, ordered cosmos subject to precise laws that can be uncovered by human reasoning. Yet why this should be so remains a tantalising mystery. Why should human beings have the ability to discover and understand the principles on which the universe runs?'Davies discusses certain conceptual principles that are essential to the discussion. The division between rational and irrational, particularly in light of 'common sense' -- not too long ago science held itself to be rational because it more conformed to 'common sense' than did 'irrational' religion; as science edges toward the irrational (defined in common sense terms) it loses the ability to use that argument against religion.`It is a fact of life that people hold beliefs, especially in the field of religion, which might be regarded as irrational. That they are held irrationally doesn't mean they are wrong.'Davies admits his bias toward rationalism, but leaves room open for discussion. He discusses metaphysics in terms of Kant, Hume, and Descartes, drawing into question the very idea of rationality and the terms of existence in which the scientific universe operates. `No attempt to explain the world, either scientifically or theologically, can be considered successful until it accounts for the paradoxical conjunction of the temporal and the atemporal.'From this opening discussion, Davies proceeds to examine the creation of the universe, asking the interesting question in terms of quantum realities -- does the universe have to have had a creator? And, even if scientifically the universe can 'spontaneously' come into being (as some mathematical models and theories seem to allow), how do we account for the construct of laws of nature that permit such a spontaneous generation? Once again, the question 'where is God?' can still have meaning.Davies spends a great deal of time looking at the nature and use of mathematics in understanding the 'real' world and 'virtual' worlds. Does mathematics exist independently of the universe, or independently of the human conscious construct of mathematics? At what points does mathematical meaning break down (for instance, in the very early universe, when the volume falls below the so-called Planck time, where the universe is theoretically too small for mathematics to be operative). In the final chapter, Davies returns to the ideas of mysticism and the limits of science.`Mysticism is no substitute for scientific inquiry

Metaphysical journey

This book addresses fundamental metaphysical and epistemological issues, in a clear, rational, and profund way, using a language accessible to any reader who has basic knowledge of the main streams of present theoretical physics. Paul Davies has the merit of being a great and at the same time humble scientist, one who is able to lower himself from the high pedestal and make his thoughts available to the general public. Paul Davies is a scientist who does not subscribe to convential religion and for this reason some readers might interpret his ideas as a denial of "God." In fact, in his quest for an ultimate understanding of the laws of nature, he is actually affirming the existence of something "beyond," whilst admitting our inherited limitations and the possibility that there may be some things with explanations that we could never grasp, and maybe others with no explanation at all. Some routes to knowledge might bypass or transcend human reason (be it mystical, revelation, or supernatural).He carries the reader throughtout this journey for ultimate truths, starting with the Greek philosophers, all the way to the main streams of theoretical physics, probing theories of origin and destiny, space and time, creation by design or chance, nature of life and consciousness, the universe as a gigantic computer, mathematical "truths," quantum physics and so forth. The beauty of Paul Davies is that he is able to present all this rich and complex matter with an open mind, exposing not only his personal opinion but also the pros and cons as manifested by a wide range of intellectual gifted minds. He does take a firm stand with respect to a "superunifed" theory, arguing against it on the basis that such model relies on mathematical assumptions which do not correspond to our universe and though the theorems of mathematics may be deduced from within the system of axioms, the axioms themselves cannot.Beside being a scientist, Paul Davies is above all a man who feels bewildered, seduced, and enchanted by nature's simplicty within its overall complexity, by this universe which is not seen as the plaything of a capricious deity, but as a coherent, rational, elegant, and harmonious expression of a deep and purposeful meaning (we are truly meant to be here). It is a positive stand, with an open mind, where there is no room for dogmas!

Mathematics, beauty, and mystery.

Davies is a professor of mathematical physics who has worked on theoretical models of quantum cosmology and has pursued studies into what kind of universe(s) might be described by suggesting the most minute alteration(s) of nature's constants. He is also a scholar well versed in philosophy and in the philosophical aspects of scientific thought. Why does science work, the author asks. Why is physical reality so wonderfully defined by the 'mindscape' of aesthetics and mathematics? Do the great minds of ages past, Plato, Augustine, Leibniz, Kant, help us with these questions?The title invokes a well known phrase from Albert Einstein's musings and refers to the mind-bending specificity and genius that underlies the physical world. Says Davies: "I belong to the group of scientists who do not subscribe to a conventional religion but nevertheless deny that the universe is a purposeless accident. 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. There must, it seems to me, be a deeper level of explanation. Whether one wishes to call that deeper level 'God' is a matter of taste and definition. Furthermore, I have come to the point of view that mind -- i.e., conscious awareness of the world -- is not a meaningless and incidental quirk of nature, but an absolutely fundamental facet of reality."It is interesting that for many mainstream mathematicians, physicists, and cosmologists, reality is something quite different than the construct preferred by most mainstream biologists. Davies, like Einstein, is particularly fascinated with the fundamental question of why nature should be knowable at all; why science itself is inevitable. That this is the condition of our universe presents us with implications we cannot ignore, although many try. The committed philosophical materialist and the hip and happening atheist may find this book to infer conclusions that are difficult to accept; it may challenge fundamental assumptions. The impenetrable opaqueness to science of certain mysterious realities has been described by Erwin Schrödinger and in more recent years by Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose, astrophysicist John Barrow, and a great many others. Even the most ardent philosophical reductionist must admit the reality of mystery, especially when we consider the deepest explanatory bases. Logically, there must be limits to what science can "know" about the deepest explanation, about why "there is something rather than nothing." Truths impervious to empiricism? Truths impervious to rationalism? Can it be? It can, and as is implied by Gödel's incompleteness theorem, this is not so surprising. Davies, like Penrose, is more thoughtfully sober than brashly confident in his consideration of physics' popular Holy Grail, the widely promised "Theory of Everything." A thoughtful consideration of beauty and boundaries, of "the myst

Top Quark discovery adds weight to his arguments

When Paul Davies' book was published 1993, scientists had yet to discover the top quark, but Davies predicted that it would be found one day, and therefore add further evidence to his view of an ordered, symmetrical universe which seems to be designed on purpose. The "drama" for the search for the top quark, as the author called it, had not yet been completed. Well, he was absolutely right. The top quark was discovered in March1995 at Fermi Lab. It is this kind of accuracy that sets it apart from the less rigorous Creation Science-styled books. This book cannot be dismissed since the author's knowledge of mathematics, philosophy and physics seems so wide-ranging. Moreover, he is well aware of the skepticism to the designer Universe arguments, and they are presented in this volume at every turn. Davies' powers of prophetic vision and synthesis of information are amazing. The heart of the book are the chapters on his "deep feeling" that the inherently mathematical nature of the Universe, which he admits is hard to convey to the lay reader, must lead to the inescapable conclusion that the world as we know it could not have happened by sheer chance. Ironically, Davies says, by doing their work, scientists end up thinking about God more than theologians.

This is indispensable reading for truth seekers.

With lucidity and wit, prolific writer Paul Davies, aprofessor of mathematical physics, surveys the history of science, philosophy and mathematics to try to answer the human race's deepest questions. While acknowlegingthe possibility that the universe might be a meaningless fluke, Davies convincingly argues that the existence of consciousness in the universe cannot be "a byproduct of mindless, purposeless forces." Though he is not religious in a conventional sense, Davies believes that the rationality of the universe, the fact thathumans can understand how the universe works, is evidence ofpurpose and meaning. Particularly fascinating is Davies' meditations on mathematics. Davies points out that the fact that the universe's deepest laws can beexpressed mathematically strongly suggests that thereis more to our world than meets the eye.Anyone who has ever looked at the night sky and wondered if our lives have a purpose should read this book. Thoughtrained as a scientist, Daviesis as familiar with Leibnitz, Kant, and Aquinas as he is with the latest developments in quantum physics. He also provides a fun and thought-provoking chapter on Virtual Worlds and Real Worlds. Truly a delight to read.