Does God exist? What science has to say!! (v1.0)

I wrote a set of essays on the key concepts of modern physics with a goal of trying to understand how far physics comes to explaining all reality and creation (Brahman in Indian philosophy) and what it implies about the existence of God. The part I do not cover much is an analysis of self(Atman in Indian Philosophy), but I touch briefly on what evolution and genetics science says and where a theological interpretation may be inserted. I also authored a short essay on "who am I" pointing to a discussion of Mandukya Upanishads and also contemporary concepts related to self in western psychology and a summary of various notions of self in eastern and western philosophy. I hope you find them useful.

There are three core foundational concepts in physics - quantum mechanics, relativity, and the standard model of particle physics. I explain each of them in as simple a language as I can. The next iteration of physics is a theory of everything that combines all these discrete foundational concepts into one explanation of reality. I talk about the progress towards that, and the challenges. I end with super string theory (and its variant M theory) which attempts this unification and its current state. I also talk about a detailed description of everything that happened since creation and the fascinating world of astrophysics that clearly shows how insignificant we are in the grand scales of the universe. I reach certain conclusions from these essays on the existence of God and some speculation on God’s nature.

Hope you enjoy them

Suggested order of reading:

1. The strange world of quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-strange-world-of-quantum-mechanics.html

2. Quantum mechanics and light: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/quantum-mechanics-and-light.html

3. Einsteins relativity and beyond: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/einsteins-relativity-and-beyond.html

4. More validation of relativity: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/01/einstein-validated-yet-again.html

5. Philosophical questions arising from physics: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/philosophical-questions-arising-out-of.html

6. The birth of the universe: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-birth-of-universe.html
7. What the heavens show us and why? https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/what-do-heavens-show-us-and-why.html

8. Is nuclear fission occurring in the cosmos? https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2023/12/is-nuclear-fission-occurring-in-cosmos.html

9. Two big mysteries - Dark matter and Dark Energy: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-search-for-dark-matter.html and https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/01/dark-energy.html

10. The promise of the theory of everything: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-promise-of-theory-of-everything.html

11. The opportunities and challenges of superstring theory: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-opportunity-and-challenge-of.html

12. Is spacetime quantized?: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/01/is-spacetime-quantized.html

13. Fundamentals of evolution, genetics and inheritance: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/04/fundamentals-of-evolution-genetics-and.html

I have put in quite a lot of effort to describe Brahman (universe and creation) as accurately and simply as possible according to physics (no math!!). Vedanta students soar beyond that - Understand atman and atman = brahman. But to fully understand atman = brahman, Vedanta students need to also understand what brahman fully is and one of the best sources of that is science.

Even by just examining Brahman, certain conclusions (though incomplete) can be inferred about God.

In the promise of the theory of everything, I state the following. ------>

"Can all of these be unified into a theory of everything – the fundamental foundation on which all other higher knowledges rest? Is everything interconnected? Science continues in its inexorable march to explain all the universe with one theory. This, and the current state towards this is the focus of this essay. But at this level, I can no longer explain anything at all in terms or analogies that falls within your experience. We can also start exploring the deep philosophical questions that arise from science, but that part must wait for another essay. In the birth of a universe, I talk about the universe starting from a singularity with a big bang with a plank density of energy. If all matter came from energy, where did this energy come from? If it came from something else, where did that come from? Something cannot come from nothing. To me the emergence of a single theory, if it happens, is a strong indication that there was infinite intelligence to creation. To me that is God. It is also the source of the energy of creation and the source of the total connectedness and harmony of everything. Everything is connected because there is one theory describing it. Everything is harmonious because physics theories are expressed mathematically, and the universe would be proven to be a mathematical system and that to me is harmony as well as order. Philosophers have also noticed that if the constants in physics were just a little bit different than they are, then life would not exist. There is a vanishingly low set of values for them that result in a viable universe for life. The universe is put together intelligently!! From a science perspective, a theory of everything will finally explain what was happening during the plank epoch immediately after the big bang, and what is happening at the center of a black hole. Science can go no further by its very nature. Beyond that is philosophy and theology.

All I can accept is that some phenomenon whose nature is unknown, and cannot be answered by the scientific method, was the source of spacetime and matter and energy, and imparted into the universe, assembly instructions in terms of the well governed laws of physics, laws of chemistry, and the laws of biology and evolution. These shaped the primordial universe to what it is today – one with great order, connectedness, harmony, and beauty, yet complexity and richness, and a world teeming with intelligent humans on earth and likely intelligent beings on other planets too. Are these laws the guiding instructions put into the primordial universe by God that resulted in such order, connectedness, harmony, and beauty, yet complexity and richness? Doesn’t that signal the existence of an intelligence and possibly purpose? I leave that up to you to judge. Einstein said “God does not play dice” when first presented with quantum mechanics. That implies he believed in God and likely saw beautiful and elegant equations like E=MC **2 as the handiwork of this intelligence. This conception of God does not invoke causality, space, or time. It does not require faith. It makes no statement on shape or form. But does attribute intelligence, and observes the universe is intelligently put together. It should pass scrutiny by philosophers."

Here is a fascinating article on Einstein's beliefs about God.

Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein - Wikipedia

In the Philosophical questions arising from Physics, I state the following. ----->

“There is now a preponderance of evidence that the universe was formed with a big bang when spacetime began, and the universe itself is expanding and even the expansion is accelerating. The most telling evidence is the microwave background radiation which is everywhere and is the echoes of the explosion. So about 13.8 billion years ago there was no spacetime and the big bang occurred from something akin to a singularity and the universe has been expanding since. The philosophical enigma is how did that something like a singularity (or point from which expansion occurred) happen to be and what caused the big bang and what was before it? The first interpretation by the pope was God created it. Grunbaum argues that a theological interpretation of these questions makes one of three logical mistakes.

1. The assumption that because everything is caused in spacetime, there must be a cause to the universe. Causality applies to spacetime. What applies before spacetime?

2. The question what happened before the big bang does not apply because time did not exist then. What applies then?

3. The cause of the big bang is beyond the scope of science and reason. It is also beyond faith because you can only have faith in a proposition you can understand.

the promise of a theory of everything essay, I proposition a concept of a God as the source of the energy. But I make no mention of causality or time or space. I also do not ask for faith but make a case based on observed order, beauty, harmony, and connectedness and therefore postulated that the universe is intelligently put together and called that intelligence “God”. So, I think the above argument by Grunbaum does not negate my argument."

In What the heavens show us and why, I state the following. ----->

"The solar system formed about 5 billion years ago, and life first appeared on earth about 3.5 billion years ago. Evolution does not say why or how life formed but charts its changes over time through natural selection and other forces and is not just a scientific theory but a fact with compelling evidence. It also does not really explain the "I" consciousness separate from the biology. It is not a science denying God but does conflict with some theologies that says humans were created readymade in god's image.

Given the vast scale of the universe, I wonder why some people think we are the only conscious intelligent beings in the universe, and why they think that God is focused on this one species in the universe. I would argue the probability of at least one other habitable planet and intelligent species approaches one!!! Why would God be partial to one conscious and intelligent species over another?"

In the birth of the Universe, I state the following. ------->

"Brilliant physicists like Einstein (father of relativity) and Schrodinger (father of quantum mechanics) saw the order in the universe and had some belief in God. Einstein spend all the latter part of his life working on a unified theory that unifies all the forces that never got completed. Somebody will in the future. That would further advance the theory there was intelligence behind creation. The inevitable universe of today was sealed into place in the first few seconds of the universe’s birth. Most of the predictions above on what happened is following the inevitable trajectory using quantum mechanics and relativity and particle physics and astrophysics and plasma physics as the universe expanded. It clearly is not through observations alone although current time observations did help shape this a lot. Cosmology has made great strides in the previous century and has continued to make great strides this century. The Nobel physicist Penrose is daring enough to speculate driven by calculations on what existed before the big bang even though the principle of causality may not even apply to the situation. It is fascinating reading."

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220105-what-existed-before-the-big-bang

However, the current fad of physicists dabbling in multiverse theories is not really appropriate in my opinion since this notion is not amenable at all to the scientific method. See a thoughtful article in scientific American.

Why the Multiverse May Be the Most Dangerous Idea in Physics - Scientific American

In the essay on genetics and evolution, I state the following------>

"Science and evolution do not say how or why life first appeared on earth with any degree of confidence. There is still some room for a theological explanation. Science also however does not really explain in a convincing way how or why the reflective introspective consciousness humans have, and higher cognitive capabilities evolved in life, although we could argue that it gave a natural selection advantage to flourish and is a survival skill. So, there is still some room for a theological interpretation in this area also. Is atman in Hindu philosophy similar to consciousness or some superset? Is there a divine hand in the injection of consciousness into the biochemical body? That has to necessarily be true for atman = brahman.  I don't know. "

These are all my conclusions as far as God is concerned. That is all that can be inferred just by studying Physics and evolution. To get greater insight you must go beyond physics and evolution. The net result is that science cannot really prove or disprove the existence of God or gods' nature but does offer tantalizing clues. 

My remaining task is to research at a high level the major world religion (completed and essay written: https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-evolution-cultural-and-historical.html) and also research consciousness in western thought (completed: philosophy, psychology, science).