Ebook: Cosmos, Bios, Theos: Scientists reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the Universe, Life, and Homo Sapiens

'Cosmos, Bios, Theos' is a portfolio of perspectives on the relationship between the scientific enterprise and the religious view of reality. Contributors include over twenty Nobel Prize winners and distinguished scientists from different disciplines. In this anthology, they reflect on the origins of the universe, life, and Homo sapiens, on science and religion, and on the existence of God.

'Cosmos, Bios, Theos' makes no pretension to being a statistically significant survey of the religious beliefs of modern scientists. The scientists interviewed for this anthology are, for the most part, known to be theistic or at least sympathetic to a religious view of reality. For this reason, it must be clearly understood that the book does not purport to show that most or even many scientists are theists. In point of fact, there are many modern scientists who are atheists actively opposed to any form of religion. Moreover, a number of the contributors to this anthology make it clear that they are simply uninterested in religion.

Notwithstanding these caveats, the contributions in this collection are significant in their own right. In the first place, the idea that-an eminent scientist would affirm the existence of God on rational grounds does at least pique one’s curiosity—especially in view of the popular assumption that religious belief is an anachronism or an aberration in the Age of Science. Secondly, this inquiry into the interface between science and religion is a continuation of a quest begun by some of the great pioneers of modern science. Co-editor Henry Margenau notes that “several modern scientists and scientific theories have been surprisingly sympathetic to religious issues. I recall that my late teachers/colleagues/ friends, Einstein, Schrödinger, and Heisenberg, who were all distinguished scientists, had a passionate interest in religious questions”. Finally, the metascientific implications of recent developments in science have inspired a spurt of popular quasi-theological works by contemporary scientists. Examples include Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, Paul Davies’s God and the New Physics and The Cosmic Blueprint, John Leslie’s Universes, Robert Jastrow’s God and the Astronomers, and several others. The issues addressed in these works certainly deserve further exploration.

All but a few of the contributions to Cosmos, Bios, Theos are responses to the six questions below:

1 What do you think should be the relationship between religion and science¢

2 What is your view on the origin of the universe: both on a scientific and—if you see the need—on a metaphysical level?

3 What is your view on the origin of life: both on a scientific level and—if you see the need—on a metaphysical level?

4 What is your view on the origin of Homo sapiens?

5 How should science—and the scientist—approach origin questions, specifically the origin of the universe and the origin of life?

6 Many prominent scientists—including Darwin, Einstein, and Planck—have considered the concept of God very seriously. What are your thoughts on the concept of God and on the existence of God?

The pieces by Sir John Eccles, Professor Robert Jastrow, and Professor Brian Josephson are transcripts of interviews they had with co-editor Roy Abraham Varghese. Professors Clifford Matthews, Sir Nevill Mott, Arno Penzias, Abdus Salam, and George Wald submitted full length essays in response to the six questions.

While an anthology of this nature can hardly hope to give “equal time” for all contending points of view, it does contain a spirited debate on the existence of God between the well-known atheist Antony Flew and prominent philosopher of religion H. D. Lewis. This debate is important in defining and clarifying the origin questions as they relate to the existence of God. The debate between Flew and Lewis is followed by an essay on origins in science and religion by Professor William Stoeger. The anthology ends with a paper by Professor Eugene Wigner on relativity, quantum theory, and the mystery of life.