Quantum Physics and Theology: John Polkinghorne on Thought Experiments

Abstract

Thought experimentation is part of accepted scientific practice, and this makes it surprising that philosophers of science did not seriously engage with it for a very long time. The situation changed in the 1990s, resulting in a highly intriguing debate over thought experiments. Initially, the discussion focused mostly on thought experiments in physics, philosophy, and mathematics. Other disciplines have since become the subject of interest. Yet, nothing substantial has been said about the role of thought experiments in nonphilosophical theology. This paper discusses the role of thought experiments in Christian theology in comparison to their role in quantum physics, as mentioned by John Polkinghorne in Quantum Physics and Theology. We first look briefly at the history of the inquiry into thought experiments and then at Polkinghorne's remarks about the role of thought experimentation in quantum physics and Christian eschatology. To determine the actual importance of thought experiments in Christian theology a number of new examples are introduced in a third step. In the light of these examples, in a fourth step, we address the question of what it is that explains the cognitive efficacy of thought experiments in quantum physics and Christian theology.

Thought Experiment between Revealed Theology and Narrative

“…However, as we shall see in this second part of the paper, it is possible, bearing in mind the indirect link between thought and action in the face of theological questions, to recognize the cognitive value of the theological thought experiment, especially if we consider the narrative function of the thought experiment and the relationship of unity, on the one hand, and distinction, on the other, between theological and literary thought experiments (cf. Fehige 2009aFehige , 2009bFehige , 2011Fehige , 2012Fehige , 2019Fehige and Stuart 2014;Stuart et al 2018). The art of narration can be understood as a means by which, in theology, as in fiction, the ability to imagine possible scenarios succeeds in exerting an indirect or reflexive influence on our lived experience.…”

The Book of Job as a Thought Experiment: On Science, Religion, and Literature

“…93-94). This is a controversial idea indeed, although not as far-fetched as it may seem from a position of a principled opposition to the enterprise of a dialogue between theology and science (see Fehige 2012). Consider only the gospel of Luke's Jesus, who bases his encouragement to pray "on the following TE (thought experiment, Y.F.…”

The Thought Experimenting Qualities of Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling

“…In the scope of this article, I will also take into account the theological kind of thought experimenting that, in recent years, has been discussed by Fehige (2009Fehige ( , 2012Fehige ( , 2014 in particular. While there are many thought experiments that address religious themes within the constraints of a philosophical framework, it is less common to refer to their theological counterparts.…”

“…Such theological thought experiments are, according to Fehige, characterized by their employment of "intuitions that depend on revelation" (Fehige 2014, p. 388). On this basis, he argues that the Book of Job can be seen as a thought experiment about divine providence , and Revelation 21:1-4 as a thought experiment that supports an apocalyptic model of Christian hope that stands in contrast to the existing alternative eschatological model (Fehige 2012). Fisch (2019) argues, in turn, that Talmudic literature makes use of counterfactual thought experiments as a way to imagine how Jewish laws and normative choices may be criticized outside the boundaries of the halakhic community.…”