Stars, Cells, and God | Local vs. Real and God and Abstract Things

Join astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink and philosopher Brian Huffling as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence. Local vs. Real In our macroscopic world, things behave in a “classical” way that seems obvious to us. A ball has a definite position and speed at any given time. Additionally, it exists whether anyone sees it or not, and the only things that influence the ball’s motion are close enough to not violate the light travel time. However, when we delve into quantum mechanics, these obvious truths no longer apply, which leads to an important question: What is the true nature of our physical world? We will discuss one recent paper that provides some insight into this question. References: A Strict Experimental Test of Macroscopic Realism in a Superconducting Flux Qubit God and Abstract Things Does red exist? What does it mean to be circular? Is murder wrong? Many people see these questions as obvious, but the questions deal with abstract concepts that philosophers have discussed for ages. Although most people think that there’s an objective nature to these concepts, grounding that objectivity is not a trivial task. Even from a Christian standpoint, how we ground the idea that murder is wrong can lead to troubling implications—if done incorrectly. We’ll discuss how these abstract concepts relate to God and how to use them to point to God. References: God and Other Necessary Beings