Signposts to God by Peter Bussey

Author:Peter Bussey [Bussey, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2016-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

WOULD A THEORY OF EVERYTHING BE SUFFICIENT?

If a theory of everything were able to account for the whole of physics uniquely, its discovery would be the most remarkable intellectual achievement ever made by the human race. It would be even more remarkable if such a theory were the only one that could account for a universe, and this universe contained advanced life, and this advanced life could be conscious. It would mean that our universe is governed by a unique theoretical structure that just happens to be conducive to life, as a byproduct. A truly remarkable coincidence! Clearly, no one has yet discovered such a theory.

Einstein once asked whether God had a choice when creating the universe, and this is indeed a key question. We know of no reason that there could be only one conceivable theory of everything, or if any such theories can be formulated at all. Einstein’s general theory of relativity, despite its mathematical complexity, is seen as the simplest type of theory that can fulfill the task of generating gravity out of space-time curvature. It has two undetermined physical parameters (“constants”), namely, Newton’s gravitational constant and the cosmological constant. These quantities are not part of the logic of the theory and have to be measured experimentally. It is possible to elaborate Einstein’s theory by introducing more complexities so as to form extended theories, although these new theories so far are experimentally disfavored compared to Einstein’s original. So if even general relativity is not unique one may seriously doubt whether a unique theory of everything can be possible and, if it were possible, whether it would really have no undetermined physical parameters.

Of course, a universe generated according to such a theory and also generating conscious life could be seen as a truly divine construction, the product of a Mind, and one would still ask why it should actually exist. To judge from the past, one can expect further progress in theoretical physics in the future. Some of the anthropic coincidences outlined above may turn out to be connected with the structure of an improved theory, even if not with a unique theory of everything. In that case, the coincidences will now refer to the improved theory happening to be right, in place of the physical parameters happening to be right.

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