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Theology and Metaphysics in Sombre, Scientific Times [pdf]
- rendx 7y agoKarl Svozil ∗ Institute for Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10/136, 1040 Vienna, Austria (Dated: July 2, 2019) "In view of the sobering findings of science, theology and to a lesser degree metaphysics is confronted with a humiliating loss, and a need for reinterpretation, of allegories and narratives which have served as guidance to the perplexed for millennia. Future revolutions of world perception might include the emergence of conscious- ness and superhuman artificial intelligence from universal computation, extensive virtual reality simulations, the persistence of claims of irreducible chance in the Universe, as well as contacts with alien species and the abundance of inhabited planets. As tragic and as discomforting as this might be perceived for the religious orthodoxy and by individual believers, a theology guided by science may lead us to a better and more adequate understanding of our existence. The post factum theological options are plentiful. These include dualistic sce- narios, as well as (to quote Kelly James Clark), a curling or bowling deity, that is, creatio continua, or ex nihilo. These might be grounded in, or corroborated by the metaphysical enigma of existence, which appears to be immune and robust with respect to the aforementioned challenges of science."