Physics Philosophy and Theology - (From the Vatican Observatory Foundation) by Robert John Russell & William R Stoeger S J & George V Coyne S J

Book Synopsis

This is a book written by scholars for scholars, but with a broad appeal to the intelligent lay person. It represents the results of the meeting of 21 eminent researchers at the Papal Residence at Castel Gandolfo to explore topics of common interest for scientists, philosophers, and theologians. It presents a quest common to several disciplines of scholarly research, and therefore, can be read with fair comprehension by all interested individuals. In that sense it is not a scholarly treatise. It presents more questions than answers.

A special feature of the book is the presentation of a message by Pope John Paul II calling, in a way that is unique in the history of Papal discourses, for dialogue among the communities in quest of an understanding of the human situation in light of the most recent advances in physics and cosmology. The Pope addresses some of the principal concerns with theologians should explore with respect to recent research in such fields as quantum physics, cosmology, particle physics, etc., and he asks that theologians, philosophers, and scientists alike would deepen their awareness of one another's perspectives on issues of common concern. The contents of the book are wide-ranging but unified. The first part treats historical and contemporary relations in science and religion, biblical theology on creation, Newton's thought and the roots of modern atheism, which science and theology confront one another. In the second section the ways of knowing peculiar to the various disciplines and the implications for philosophical realism are investigated. In the last section a very creative and imaginative approach is taken to some of the most prominent areas of contemporary physics and cosmology in exploring whether they are open to revealing to us some thing of the reality of God and the relationship of God to the Universe and to us as we search for meaning within that universe.

Review Quotes

"This book gathers the contributions of some of the finest scholars working in the area of science and religious understanding. Anyone wishing to follow the contemporary conversations among the representatives of physics, philosophy, and theology can hardly ignore the substance of this text." --Église et Théologie

"High quality . . . this is a worthwhile book, one which should be studied carefully by all students of the modern world of science and theology interacting." --Philosophy of Religion

"This book is a collection of eighteen essays representing an outgrowth of a study week at the Vatican in 1987. The three studies of the title are discussed and connected with great breadth--and often also depth--by eighteen authors. Their erudition is rivaled only by their productivity and their diversity." --Zygon

About the Author

Robert John Russell is professor of theology and science, and founder and director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

William R. Stoeger, S.J., is Staff Astrophysicist at the Vatican Observatory, Vatican Observatory Research Group, Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, Tucson Arizona. He is also Adjunct Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. Francisco J. Ayala is the Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.

George V. Coyne, S.J. (1933 - 2020) was an American Jesuit priest and astronomer who directed the Vatican Observatory and headed its research group at the University of Arizona from 1978 to 2006.

Other Contributors: John Paul II, Ian Barbour, Michael Buckley, S.J., W. Norris Clarke, S.J., Richard Clifford, S.J., Michael Heller, Ernan McMullin, Olaf Pedersen, Mary Hesse, Nicholas Lash, Janet Martin Soskice, C.J. Isham, John Leslie, Sallie McFague, Ted Peters, John Polkinghorne, Robert John Russell, William Stoeger, S.J., and Frank Tipler.