John Polkinghorne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Polkinghorne
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Polkinghorne in 2007
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| President of Queens' College, Cambridge | |||||||||
| In office 1988–1996 |
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| Preceded by | Ronald Oxburgh | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lord Eatwell | ||||||||
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| Born |
John Charlton Polkinghorne
16 October 1930 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England |
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| Died | 9 March 2021 (aged 90) Cambridge, England |
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| Citizenship | United Kingdom | ||||||||
| Spouse |
Ruth Polkinghorne
(m. 1955) |
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| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge | ||||||||
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Notable work
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| Scientific career | |||||||||
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| Thesis | Contributions to Quantum Field Theory (1955) | ||||||||
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John Charlton Polkinghorne (1930–2021) was a famous English theoretical physicist, a theologian, and an Anglican priest. He was well-known for explaining how science and religion can fit together.
He was a professor of mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979. After that, he decided to become a priest. He was ordained in 1982. Later, he became the president of Queens' College, Cambridge, from 1988 to 1996.
Polkinghorne wrote many books about physics and about how science and religion relate. Some of his books include The Quantum World (1989) and Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship (2005). He was made a knight in 1997 and won the Templeton Prize in 2002. This prize is given for special contributions to understanding life's spiritual side.
Contents
Early Life and Education
John Polkinghorne was born in Weston-super-Mare, England, on October 16, 1930. He was the third child of Dorothy Charlton and George Polkinghorne. His older sister, Ann, died before he was born, and his brother, Peter, died in 1942 while flying for the Royal Air Force during World War II.
He went to primary school in Street, Somerset. Later, he attended Elmhurst Grammar School. When his father moved for work in 1945, John transferred to The Perse School in Cambridge. After serving in the army from 1948 to 1949, he studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1952 as the top student in his class. In 1955, he earned his PhD in physics. His supervisor was Abdus Salam, who later won a Nobel Prize.
Career in Science and Religion
Physics Research
While at Cambridge, Polkinghorne met his future wife, Ruth Martin, who was also a mathematics student. They married in 1955. He then went to the California Institute of Technology in the United States to work with Murray Gell-Mann, another famous physicist.
In 1956, he became a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Two years later, he returned to Cambridge to teach. He became a professor of mathematical physics in 1968. He held this position until 1979. During his 25 years as a physicist, he studied tiny particles and helped discover the quark. He also worked on complex theories about how particles behave. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, which is a big honor for scientists.
Becoming a Priest
In 1977, Polkinghorne decided to train to become a priest. He felt he had done enough for science and that his best physics work was behind him. Since Christianity was always important to him, he saw becoming a priest as an exciting new path.
He left his professorship in 1979 to study at Westcott House, Cambridge, a college for Anglican priests. He was ordained as a priest on June 6, 1982. He worked as a curate (a junior priest) in Bristol and then as a vicar (a parish priest) in Kent. In 1986, he returned to Cambridge as the dean of chapel at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
Later that year, he became the president of Queens' College, Cambridge. He stayed in this role until he retired in 1996. He also served as a canon theologian at Liverpool Cathedral from 1994 to 2005. John Polkinghorne passed away on March 9, 2021, at the age of 90.
Awards and Recognition
In 1997, Polkinghorne was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). Because he was an ordained priest, he was not called "Sir John Polkinghorne." He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Durham in 1998.
In 2002, he won the Templeton Prize. This award recognized his important work on the connection between science and religion. He was also a founding member and the first president of the International Society for Science and Religion.
Polkinghorne's Ideas
Polkinghorne believed that his journey from science to religion gave him a special way of seeing the world. He said that science and religion both try to understand the same reality. He always sought the truth, whether he was working as a scientist or a priest.
He thought that the world is not like a simple machine, but more like a cloud, full of possibilities. He believed that our mind, soul, and body are different parts of the same reality. He also thought that simple physical rules couldn't fully explain how things and people interact. He used the idea of "active information" to describe how, when many outcomes are possible, a higher power might choose which one happens.
On God's Existence
Polkinghorne believed that "the question of the existence of God is the single most important question we face about the nature of reality." He felt that believing in God made more sense of the world than not believing. He pointed to a few key ideas:
- The Universe Makes Sense: He wondered why humans can understand complex things like the subatomic world and general relativity. This ability goes beyond what we need just to survive. He found it amazing that mathematical beauty often guides scientists to successful theories.
- The Universe is "Fine-Tuned": He agreed with physicists who noticed that the universe seems perfectly set up for life to exist. He suggested that either there are many other universes, or our universe is designed by a Creator who made it perfect for life.
- A Deeper Human Reality: He thought that belief in God better explains why we have a sense of right and wrong, and why we find beauty in nature and art. He argued that ideas like "torturing children is wrong" are more than just social rules; they are real moral truths.
On Free Will and Creationism
Polkinghorne believed that humans have free will. He argued that a world where people can choose to do good or bad is better than a world where everyone is like a robot. He also thought that the universe was allowed to develop on its own, rather than being controlled by a "Cosmic Tyrant."
He explained his view on creationism. He said that as a Christian, he was a "creationist" in the sense that he believed God created the universe. However, he was not a "creationist" in the way some people in North America are, who believe the Bible's creation story is a literal, scientific account and that evolution is wrong. Polkinghorne believed that science, including evolution, explores the wonderful order of the universe that God created.
Published Works
John Polkinghorne wrote many books, which have been translated into 18 languages. Most of his books are about science and religion, often written for a general audience.
Some of his well-known books include:
- The Way the World Is: The Christian Perspective of a Scientist (1984)
- Quarks, Chaos and Christianity (1994)
- Faith, Science and Understanding (2000)
- Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science & Religion (2005)
- Quantum Physics & Theology: An Unexpected Kinship (2007)
- Questions of Truth: Fiftyone Responses to Questions about God, Science and Belief (2009)
See also
- Double-aspect theory
- List of Christians in science and technology
- List of scholars on the relationship between religion and science
