John Polkinghorne Biography

John Polkinghorne, Physicist
Born asJohn Charlton Polkinghorne
Known asDr John Charlton Polkinghorne
Occup.Physicist
FromUnited Kingdom
BornOctober 16, 1930
Weston-super-Mare, England
Age94 years
John Charlton Polkinghorne was born upon October 16, 1930, in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside community in Somerset, England. He was raised in a religious family members, and his father was a Methodist priest. Polkinghorne showed a very early interest in maths and also physics, which ultimately led him to a lifelong intellectual trip of checking out the partnership between science as well as religious beliefs.

Education as well as Early Career in Physics
Polkinghorne participated in the distinguished Grammar School in his home town prior to receiving a scholarship to research at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1948. There, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics in 1952 as well as began his study career as an academic physicist.

In 1954, he completed his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Cambridge under the guidance of the famous theoretical physicist Abdus Salam. He additionally held a position as a study fellow at Trinity College from 1954 to 1956. Polkinghorne took place to collaborate with some of the leading scientists of his time, including Paul Dirac, Murray Gell-Mann, and Richard Dalitz.

Polkinghorne's very early study generally concentrated on particle physics, and he made substantial payments to our understanding of the habits of elementary particles, such as quarks, as well as the forces acting upon them. Throughout his time as a physicist, he published greater than a hundred documents and books on various subjects in theoretical physics as well as quantum field concept.

Shift to Theology and also Ordination
In the late 1970s, Polkinghorne began examining several of the deeper metaphysical and thoughtful implications of his work as a physicist. This led him to a choice that would profoundly form his life as well as profession: in 1979, at the age of 48, he resigned from his position as a professor of mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge to examine for the Anglican priesthood.

Polkinghorne was commissioned a priest in the Church of England in 1982, and his double rate of interests in science as well as theology remained to influence his job. After working as a curate in a church in South Bristol for 2 years, he returned to Cambridge, where he was designated dean of the university church at Trinity Hall in 1986.

Throughout his occupation, Polkinghorne has checked out the partnership in between science and religious beliefs, advocating for a dialogue in between both techniques. He is a solid supporter of the concept that scientific research and also religions are not incompatible which each can inform and enrich the other.

Prominent Works and Achievements
Polkinghorne has actually composed numerous publications as well as articles on the junction between science as well as theology. Amongst his most influential jobs are "The Way the World Is" (1983), "The Faith of a Physicist" (1994), and "Quantum Physics and also Theology: An Unexpected Kinship" (2005). His works have gathered him countless awards and prominent titles, including being sworn in as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, winning the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 2002, as well as being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.

In addition to his payments to science-religion discussion, Polkinghorne has actually also contributed in public law and also ethics conversations. He has been a member of numerous national boards on problems such as genetic modification, stem cell study, as well as the ethical ramifications of brand-new technologies.

Verdict
John Polkinghorne's life as well as work have actually been noted by his curiosity as well as dedication to recognizing the world around him. As a physicist, he contributed to our understanding of the essential nature of deep space. As a theologian and also clergyman, he has actually sought to bridge the space in between scientific research as well as faith. With his ground-breaking job, Polkinghorne has actually influenced plenty of others to check out the complex and remarkable interaction in between scientific research, approach, and faith.

Our collection contains 26 quotes who is written / told by John.

Related authors: Elizabeth I (Royalty), Queen Elizabeth II (Royalty), Elizabeth II (Royalty), Ice T (Musician), Abdus Salam (Scientist), Murray Gell-Mann (Physicist), Paul Dirac (Physicist), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

John Polkinghorne Famous Works:
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26 Famous quotes by John Polkinghorne

Small: Theologians have a great problem because theyre seeking to speak about God. Since God is the ground of
"Theologians have a great problem because they're seeking to speak about God. Since God is the ground of everything that is, there's a sense in which every human inquiry is grist to the theological mill. Obviously, no theologian can know everything"
Small: If the experience of science teaches anything, its that the world is very strange and surprising.
"If the experience of science teaches anything, it's that the world is very strange and surprising. The many revolutions in science have certainly shown that"
Small: I think its very important to maintain the classical Christian distinction between the Creator and crea
"I think it's very important to maintain the classical Christian distinction between the Creator and creation"
Small: Of course, nobody would deny the importance of human beings for theological thinking, but the time span
"Of course, nobody would deny the importance of human beings for theological thinking, but the time span of history that theologians think about is a few thousand years of human culture rather than the fifteen billion years of the history of the universe"
Small: However, as the Eastern churches have always maintained, through Christ creation is intended eventually
"However, as the Eastern churches have always maintained, through Christ creation is intended eventually to share in the life of God, the life of divine nature"
Small: It is the faithfulness of God that allows epistemology to model ontology
"It is the faithfulness of God that allows epistemology to model ontology"
Small: Evolution, of course, is not something that simply applies to life here on earth it applies to the whol
"Evolution, of course, is not something that simply applies to life here on earth; it applies to the whole universe"
Small: Chance doesnt mean meaningless randomness, but historical contingency. This happens rather than that, a
"Chance doesn't mean meaningless randomness, but historical contingency. This happens rather than that, and that's the way that novelty, new things, come about"
Small: Bottom up thinkers try to start from experience and move from experience to understanding. They dont st
"Bottom up thinkers try to start from experience and move from experience to understanding. They don't start with certain general principles they think beforehand are likely to be true; they just hope to find out what reality is like"
Small: At present, too much theological thinking is very human-centered
"At present, too much theological thinking is very human-centered"
Small: After all, the universe required ten billion years of evolution before life was even possible the evolu
"After all, the universe required ten billion years of evolution before life was even possible; the evolution of the stars and the evolving of new chemical elements in the nuclear furnaces of the stars were indispensable prerequisites for the generation of life"
Small: Of course, Einstein was a very great scientist indeed, and I have enormous respect for him, and great a
"Of course, Einstein was a very great scientist indeed, and I have enormous respect for him, and great admiration for the discoveries he made. But he was very committed to a view of the objectivity of the physical world"
Small: Nevertheless, all of us who work in quantum physics believe in the reality of a quantum world, and the
"Nevertheless, all of us who work in quantum physics believe in the reality of a quantum world, and the reality of quantum entities like protons and electrons"
Small: I also think we need to maintain distinctions - the doctrine of creation is different from a scientific
"I also think we need to maintain distinctions - the doctrine of creation is different from a scientific cosmology, and we should resist the temptation, which sometimes scientists give in to, to try to assimilate the concepts of theology to the concepts of science"
Small: Im a very passionate believer in the unity of knowledge. There is one world of reality - one world of o
"I'm a very passionate believer in the unity of knowledge. There is one world of reality - one world of our experience that we're seeking to describe"
Small: I was very much on the mathematical side, where you probably do your best work before youre forty-five.
"I was very much on the mathematical side, where you probably do your best work before you're forty-five. Having passed that significant date, I thought I would do something else"
Small: I very much enjoyed my career in science. I didnt leave science because I was disillusioned, but felt I
"I very much enjoyed my career in science. I didn't leave science because I was disillusioned, but felt I'd done my bit for it after about twenty-five years"
Small: The physical fabric of the world had to be such as to enable that ten billion year preliminary evolutio
"The physical fabric of the world had to be such as to enable that ten billion year preliminary evolution to produce the raw materials of life. Without it there would not have been the chemical materials to allow life to evolve here on earth"
Small: So Whiteheads metaphysics doesnt fit very well on to physics as we understand the process of the world
"So Whitehead's metaphysics doesn't fit very well on to physics as we understand the process of the world"
Small: Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but you cant construct a doctrine
"Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but you can't construct a doctrine of creation without taking account of the age of the universe and the evolutionary character of cosmic history"
Small: Quantum theory also tells us that the world is not simply objective somehow its something more subtle t
"Quantum theory also tells us that the world is not simply objective; somehow it's something more subtle than that. In some sense it is veiled from us, but it has a structure that we can understand"
Small: People, and especially theologians, should try to familiarize themselves with scientific ideas.
"People, and especially theologians, should try to familiarize themselves with scientific ideas. Of course, science is technical in many respects, but there are some very good books that try to set out some of the conceptual structure of science"
Small: Yes, I was a parish priest for five years. I was a curate in a large working class parish in Bristol an
"Yes, I was a parish priest for five years. I was a curate in a large working class parish in Bristol and the Vicar of a village in Kent"
Small: Whitehead reacted strongly against the idea of God as a cosmic tyrant, one who brings about everything
"Whitehead reacted strongly against the idea of God as a cosmic tyrant, one who brings about everything"
Small: Well, its because I gladly acknowledge some ideas that are part of process theology, but which I think
"Well, it's because I gladly acknowledge some ideas that are part of process theology, but which I think are not tied to all the details of process thought, and are very illuminating and helpful"
Small: Those theologians who are beginning to take the doctrine of creation very seriously should pay some att
"Those theologians who are beginning to take the doctrine of creation very seriously should pay some attention to science's story"