God, Chaos, and the Quantum Dice

Zygon 35 (3):545-559 (2000)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

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 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.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,928

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Quantum Chaos and Semiclassical Mechanics.Robert Batterman - 1992 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1992:50-65.
The construction of chaos theory.Yvon Gauthier - 2009 - Foundations of Science 14 (3):153-165.
Has chaos been explained?Jeffrey Koperski - 2001 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 52 (4):683-700.
Nonseparability and quantum chaos.Frederick M. Kronz - 1998 - Philosophy of Science 65 (1):50-75.
A Philosophical Evaluation of the Chaos Theory "Revolution".Stephen H. Kellert - 1992 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1992:33 - 49.
Bohmian insights into quantum chaos.James T. Cushing - 2000 - Philosophy of Science 67 (3):445.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-04-22

Downloads
186 (#106,094)

6 months
8 (#361,341)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Jeffrey Koperski
Saginaw Valley State University

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references