Download or read book A Fine Tuned Universe written by Alister E. McGrath and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2009-02-16 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring a wide range of physical and biological phenomena and drawing on the latest research in biochemistry and evolutionary biology, McGrath draws out the implications of our new understanding of the natural world for traditional debates about the existence of God. --from publisher description.
Download or read book The Fallacy of Fine Tuning written by Victor J. Stenger and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2011-04-15 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A number of authors have noted that if some physical parameters were slightly changed, the universe could no longer support life, as we know it. This implies that life depends sensitively on the physics of our universe. Does this "fine-tuning" of the universe suggest that a creator god intentionally calibrated the initial conditions of the universe such that life on earth and the evolution of humanity would eventually emerge? In his in-depth and highly accessible discussion of this fascinating and controversial topic, the author looks at the evidence and comes to the opposite conclusion. He finds that the observations of science and our naked senses not only show no evidence for God, they provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that God does not exist.
Download or read book Fine Tuning in the Physical Universe written by David Sloan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-29 with total page 571 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An overview of fine-tuning arguments in physics, for students and researchers in physics and philosophy.
Download or read book Cosmological Fine Tuning Arguments written by Jason Waller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the physical constants, initial conditions, or laws of nature in our universe had been even slightly different, then the evolution of life would have been impossible. This observation has led many philosophers and scientists to ask the natural next question: why is our universe so "fine-tuned" for life? The debates around this question are wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary, complicated, technical, and (at times) heated. This study is a comprehensive investigation of these debates and the many metaphysical and epistemological questions raised by cosmological fine-tuning. Waller’s study reaches two significant and controversial conclusions. First, he concludes that the criticisms directed at the "multiverse hypothesis" by theists and at the "theistic hypothesis" by naturalists are largely unsuccessful. Neither of these options can plausibly be excluded. Choosing between them seems to turn on primitive (and so hard to justify) metaphysical intuitions. Second, in order to break the philosophical deadlock, Waller moves the debate from the level of universes to the level of possible worlds. Arguing that possible worlds are also "fine-tuned" in an important and interesting sense, Waller concludes that the only plausible explanation for the fine-tuning of the actual world is to posit the existence of some kind of "God-like-thing."
Download or read book The Quest For God written by Paul Johnson and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading historian examines his faith in God, in the light of the historical evidence and his own personal experiences.
Download or read book The Wonder of the Universe written by Karl W. Giberson and published by ReadHowYouWant. This book was released on 2012-06 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Karl Giberson takes us on a fascinating guided tour of planets and protons, galaxies and gamma rays. For many, even those who do not embrace religious faith, it looks like the expression of a grand plan - a cosmic architecture capable of both supporting life such as ours, and of inspiring observers like us to seek out a creator.
Download or read book Body Theology written by James B. Nelson and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nelson offers an incarnational way of doing theology in this unique book. He takes body experiences seriously and views sexuality as central to the mystery of human experience and to the human relationship with God. He seeks to identify what Scripture and tradition say about sexuality and focuses on sexual theology, men's issues, and biomedical ethics.
Download or read book Anthropic Bias written by Nick Bostrom and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropic Bias explores how to reason when you suspect that your evidence is biased by "observation selection effects"--that is, evidence that has been filtered by the precondition that there be some suitably positioned observer to "have" the evidence. This conundrum--sometimes alluded to as "the anthropic principle," "self-locating belief," or "indexical information"--turns out to be a surprisingly perplexing and intellectually stimulating challenge, one abounding with important implications for many areas in science and philosophy. There are the philosophical thought experiments and paradoxes: the Doomsday Argument; Sleeping Beauty; the Presumptuous Philosopher; Adam & Eve; the Absent-Minded Driver; the Shooting Room. And there are the applications in contemporary science: cosmology ("How many universes are there?", "Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life?"); evolutionary theory ("How improbable was the evolution of intelligent life on our planet?"); the problem of time's arrow ("Can it be given a thermodynamic explanation?"); quantum physics ("How can the many-worlds theory be tested?"); game-theory problems with imperfect recall ("How to model them?"); even traffic analysis ("Why is the 'next lane' faster?"). Anthropic Bias argues that the same principles are at work across all these domains. And it offers a synthesis: a mathematically explicit theory of observation selection effects that attempts to meet scientific needs while steering clear of philosophical paradox.
Download or read book Cosmic Jackpot written by Paul Davies and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2007-04-11 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cosmic Jackpot is Paul Davies’s eagerly awaited return to cosmology, the successor to his critically acclaimed bestseller The Mind of God. Here he tackles all the "big questions," including the biggest of them all: Why does the universe seem so well adapted for life? In his characteristically clear and elegant style, Davies shows how recent scientific discoveries point to a perplexing fact: many different aspects of the cosmos, from the properties of the humble carbon atom to the speed of light, seem tailor-made to produce life. A radical new theory says it’s because our universe is just one of an infinite number of universes, each one slightly different. Our universe is bio-friendly by accident -- we just happened to win the cosmic jackpot. While this "multiverse" theory is compelling, it has bizarre implications, such as the existence of infinite copies of each of us and Matrix-like simulated universes. And it still leaves a lot unexplained. Davies believes there’s a more satisfying solution to the problem of existence: the observations we make today could help shape the nature of reality in the remote past. If this is true, then life -- and, ultimately, consciousness -- aren’t just incidental byproducts of nature, but central players in the evolution of the universe. Whether he’s elucidating dark matter or dark energy, M-theory or the multiverse, Davies brings the leading edge of science into sharp focus, provoking us to think about the cosmos and our place within it in new and thrilling ways.
Download or read book The Creator and the Cosmos written by Hugh Norman Ross and published by NavPress Publishing Group. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few of us can venture outside on a clear, dark night and not pause for a silent, reflective look at the stars. For countless centuries people have felt a sense of wonder about the heavens. How did our universe come into being? Has it always been here? Is our existence due to random chance or supernatural design? Is God "out there"? If so, what is He like? Traditionally, the church has answered such questions with Scripture, while science has contributed theories and formulas of its own. Torn between a deep respect for church doctrines and an intellectual need for answers that support what their senses are telling them, many Christians have avoided such discussions altogether. Actually, the two sides are no longer that far apart. In The Creator and the Cosmos, astrophysicist Dr. Hugh Ross explains how recent scientific measurements of the universe have clearly pointed to the existence of God. Whether you're looking for scientific support for your faith or new reasons to believe, The Creator and the Cosmos will enable you to see the Creator for yourself.
Download or read book Fitness of the Cosmos for Life written by John D. Barrow and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An interdisciplinary book for scientists interested in the origin and existence of life in our universe, first published in 2007.
Download or read book God and Design written by Neil A. Manson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biochemistry have captured the public imagination and made the Design Argument - the theory that God created the world according to a specific plan - the object of renewed scientific and philosophical interest. This accessible but serious introduction to the design problem brings together new perspectives from prominent scientists and philosophers including Paul Davies, Richard Swinburne, Sir Martin Rees, Michael Behe, Elliot Sober and Peter van Inwagen. It probes the relationship between modern science and religious belief, considering their points of conflict and their many points of similarity. Is the real God of creationism the 'master clockmaker' who sets the world's mechanism on a perfectly enduring course, or a miraculous presence who continually intervenes in and alters the world we know? Are science and faith, or evolution and creation, really in conflict at all? Expanding the parameters of a lively and urgent debate, God and Design considers how perennial questions of origin continue to fascinate and disturb us.
Download or read book Counting to God written by Douglas Ell and published by . This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grounded in his academic science background and life-long independent study, the author presents his insights into how modern science supports of the existence of God.
Download or read book Universes written by John Leslie and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1989 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a comprehensive collection of critical essays on The Taming of the Shrew, and includes extensive discussions of the play's various printed versions and its theatrical productions. Aspinall has included only those essays that offer the most influential and controversial arguments surrounding the play. The issues discussed include gender, authority, female autonomy and unruliness, courtship and marriage, language and speech, and performance and theatricality.
Download or read book The Cosmic Revolutionary s Handbook written by Luke A. Barnes and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents the observations that helped establish our theories of the cosmos, from a unique and engaging perspective.
Download or read book Just Six Numbers written by Martin Rees and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2008-08-04 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DivThe genesis of the universe elegantly explained in a simple theory based on just six numbers by one of the world's most renowned astrophysicists/div
Download or read book Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom written by William Lane Craig and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1991 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ancient problem of fatalism, more particularly theological fatalism, has resurfaced with surprising vigour in the second half of the twentieth century. Two questions predominate in the debate: (1) Is divine foreknowledge compatible with human freedom and (2) How can God foreknow future free acts? Having surveyed the historical background of this debate in "The Problem of Divine Foreknowledge" and "Future Contingents from Aristotle to Suarez" (Brill: 1988), William Lane Craig now attempts to address these issues critically. His wide-ranging discussion brings together a thought- provoking array of related topics such as logical fatalism, multivalent logic, backward causation, precognition, time travel, counterfactual logic, temporal necessity, Newcomb's Problem, middle knowledge, and relativity theory. The present work serves both as a useful survey of the extensive literature on theological fatalism and related fields and as a stimulating assessment of the possibility of divine foreknowledge of future free acts.
