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God, Chaos, and the Quantum Dice
Author(s) -
Koperski Jeffrey
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/0591-2385.00296
Subject(s) - dice , observable , agency (philosophy) , quantum chaos , physics , quantum , probabilistic logic , chaos (operating system) , outcome (game theory) , theoretical physics , quantum mechanics , statistical physics , quantum dynamics , philosophy , epistemology , mathematics , mathematical economics , computer science , statistics , computer security
A recent noninterventionist account of divine agency has been proposed that marries the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics to the instability of chaos theory. On this account, God is able to bring about observable effects in the macroscopic world by determining the outcome of quantum events. When this determination occurs in the presence of chaos, the ability to influence large systems is multiplied. This paper argues that, although the proposal is highly intuitive, current research in dynamics shows that it is far less plausible than previously thought. Chaos coupled to quantum mechanics proves to be a shaky foundation for models of divine agency.