What can God Explain?

Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement ◽

10.1017/s1358246111000051 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 ◽

pp. 51-65

Author(s):

Gerard J. Hughes

Keyword(s):

Traditional View ◽

Theistic Belief ◽

The Universe

In this paper, I shall be arguing for what I hope is a modern version of a very traditional view, which is that God can explain two very basic phenomena: the first is the existence of the universe as we know it: the second is the particular way in which the universe is organised. I shall also, though briefly, try to counter the view that the totally unwelcome features of our universe make it impossible to reconcile the universe as it is with anything like traditional theistic belief. This project, however, is quite a daunting one. So I would wish to make it clear right at the start that, while I would claim that my views are reasonable, and indeed more reasonable than belief in the denial of these views would be, I still do not hold that it is unreasonable for someone to reject each of the conclusions for which I shall argue. For plainly anyone, whether myself or any opponent, can be both reasonable and mistaken.

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The Discovery of the Subatomic Particles : From Atoms to Quarks

10.31235/osf.io/nr7ga ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rochelle Forrester

Keyword(s):

Periodic Table ◽

Chemical Elements ◽

Traditional View ◽

Naked Eye ◽

Subatomic Particles ◽

Separate Atom ◽

The Universe ◽

Chinese View

The change from the traditional Western and Chinese view of the elements involving materials such as water, air, earth, wood, metal and fire, to the chemical elements making up the periodic table, to atoms, to particles such as protons, neutrons and electrons, and then to quarks was inevitable. The order of discovery of these ideas of the ultimate constituents of matter was necessary, in that they could not have been discovered in any other order. This was because nature has a particular structure and we have a particular place in nature. The traditional view of the elements could be obtained by naked eye observation, and the view of nature as being made up of the chemical elements in the periodic table was next discovered, as it involved the decomposition of traditional elements, such as air and water. This led to the idea there was a separate atom for each element which explained the differences between the elements. The sub atomic particles were discovered in a necessary order with the outer particles like the electron being discovered earlier, and inner particles such as quarks being discovered later. The order of discovery of particles was also affected by the properties of the particles. The charges of particles, their mass and ability to survive outside the particles they make up, and other properties will make a particle harder or easier to discover. The order of discovery is inevitable and set by the structure of the universe. The structure of the universe includes the structure of the atom, and of the particles making up the atom, and the properties of the atom, and of the particles making up the atom.

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Cosmological theories before and without einstein

The Oxford Handbook of the History of Modern Cosmology ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817666.013.1 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. xviii-38

Author(s):

Helge Kragh

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Infinite Number ◽

Traditional View ◽

Material Content ◽

Modern Cosmology ◽

Century Science ◽

The Universe

Although modern cosmology is essentially a twentieth-century science, its birth can reasonably be traced back to discussions about the universe in the previous century. With the emergence of astrophysics in the 1860s astronomy was substantially changed and the material content of the universe became an issue of science. At about the same time thermodynamics was applied to the universe at large, with the result that the beginning and end of the universe entered astronomical thought. Moreover, it became slowly realized that space can be described as curved rather than flat. In that case it would be possible to speak about a finite and yet unbounded universe and in this way to solve some of the problems associated with the traditional view of an infinite number of stars. These and other problems were only fully understood in the twentieth century, but they were discussed before Einstein revolutionized cosmology.

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