Does God act in the Quantum World? - Dr Emily Qureshi-Hurst - SRF Online Oct 2024

Does God act in the Quantum World?
Dr Emily Qureshi-Hurst

ABSTRACT: Quantum Mechanics and its philosophical interpretation have proved fertile ground for theological reflection, particularly regarding divine action. Pioneer in this field, Robert John Russell, proposes a Non-Interventionist Objective Divine Action (NIODA) in which God acts in and through the quantum process to actualise events as a form of objective special providence. This talk analyses NIODA and suggests that there are areas of incompleteness that require revision or at least revisitation. First, I argue that NIODA may not be as helpful as Russell hopes in solving the problems human beings care most about. Second, I argue that this form of divine action raises the problem of evil in a particularly problematic way.

Emily Qureshi-Hurst is a philosopher based at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the philosophical questions raised by interactions between science and religion, particularly physics and Christianity. Emily has written on issues in the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of time (including issues in special and general relativity, quantum mechanics, and temporal experience), the philosophy of physics, and the philosophy of social media. She has also participated in cross-disciplinary collaborations with scholars from philosophy, theology, and physics. Before starting this JRF Emily completed a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology, and an M.St and D.Phil in Science and Religion, all at the University of Oxford.
She currently teaches a range of undergraduate papers from philosophy and theology, including: science and religion, further studies in science and religion, psychology of religion, philosophy of religion, general philosophy, and ethics.

You can read the paper at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10...

Recorded at 'Peacocke @ 100 - Science, Causality and God: Divine Action in a Scientific Age' an online conference from the Science and Religion Forum - 28th - 29th October 2024

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