On 18.06.2012 19:33 meekerdb said the following:
On 6/13/2012 1:02 PM, Evgenii Rudnyi wrote:
And what is that meaning which they have expounded with unanimity
and has anyone who is *not* a theologian ever believed it?
I believe that educated people, for example scientists, have
followed theological books.
But I asked what *it* is, the meaning they have expounded with
*unanimity*. No doubt some scientists have been influenced by some
theological and philosophical writing. But did they *believe it* and
*was it unanimous* or was it selected by the scientist from many
contradictory writings as one agreeable to his ideas.
This would be a goal of historical research to find it out. For example
a couple of quotes from Newton (according to Soul of Science)
Newton, General Scholium "This Being governs all things, not as the soul
of the world, but as Lord over all; ... and Deity is the dominion of
God, not over his own body, as those imagine who fancy God to be the
soul of the world, but over servants."
“this most beautiful system of sun, planets, and comets could only
proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
Now the quote from the book Soul of Science itself:
"Roger Cotes, in his preface to the second edition of Newton’s
Principia, wrote that the book 'will be the safest protection against
the attacks of atheists, and nowhere more surely than from this quiver
can one draw forth missiles against the band of godless men.'"
No doubt, the historical research can offer different interpretations.
Another quote from Soul of Science
"In recent years much scholarly ink has been spilled in attempts to pin
down his philosophical orientation. Keynes studied Newton’s manuscripts
and concluded that, in contrast to the standard conception, Newton stood
within the neo-Platonic tradition with its fascination for symbols and
magic. 'Why do I call him a magician?' Keynes
asks.
'Because he looked on the whole universe and all that is in it as a
riddle, as a secret which could be read by applying pure thought to
certain evidence, certain mystic clues which God had laid about the
world. ... He regarded the universe as a cryptogram set by the Almighty.'
'Newton was not the first of the age of reason,' Keynes concludes. 'He
was the last of the magicians.'"
Hence when you think of Newton you indeed have a choice. It might be a
good idea to read Newton directly, then you may have a better idea what
was his reason to call in God and offer your own interpretation.
Evgenii
P.S. I have finished listening to Hawking's (I hope that I have got his
name right this time) Grand Design. What is the difference between
a) I believe in God
and
b) I believe in the M-theory?
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