Weinberg, Steven

Steve is a Nobel Laureate in Physics (1979). Considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist in the world today, particularly for his role in formulating the Standard Model of particle physics, he holds the Josey Regental Chair in Science at the University of Texas at Austin. His popular books include The First Three Minutes; Dreams of a Final Theory: The Search for the Fundamental Laws of Nature; and Facing Up: Science and its Cultural Adversaries. His articles on various subjects, including science vs. religion, appear in The New York Review of Books. Following are some of Steven’s classic quotations: "The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless."  "Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."  “In an e-mail message from the American Association for the Advancement of Science I learned that the aim of this conference is to have a constructive dialogue between science and religion. I am all in favor of a dialogue between science and religion, but not a constructive dialogue. One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious. We should not retreat from this accomplishment.”  “It would be wonderful to find in the laws of nature a plan prepared by a concerned creator in which human beings played some special role. I find sadness in doubting that we will.”  “Although it is not hard to Imagine a Final Theory that does not have an explanation in terms of deeper principles, It is very difficult to Imagine a Final Theory that does not need such an explanation.” “If all else fails, we may be thrown back on an anthropic explanation... I hope this is not the case.”  “Difficult to conceive of regression of more and more fundamental explanation without the arrows of explanation having to converge somewhere.”  “Philosophy only occasionally benefits physicists, generally in a negative fashion: by protecting them from the preconceptions of other philosophers.”  “General, modern definitions of God (such as Order / Harmony) makes the concept of God not so much wrong as unimportant.”  “Will we find signs of an interested God in a Final Theory of physics and universe? I Think Not.”  “The more we refine our understanding of God to make the concept plausible, the more it seems pointless.”  “Religious people have grappled for millennia with the theodicy, the problem posed by the existence of suffering in a world that is supposed to be ruled by a good God. They have found ingenious solutions in terms of various supposed divine plans. I will not try to argue with these solutions, much less to add one of my own. Remembrance of the Holocaust leaves me unsympathetic to attempts to justify the ways of God to man. If there is a God that has special plans for humans, then He has taken very great pains to hide His concern for us. To me it would seem impolite if not impious to bother such a God with our prayers.”  “Some scientists say that the contemplation of nature gives them all the spiritual satisfaction that others have traditionally found in a belief in an interested God. Some of them may even really feel that way. I do not.”  “I happen to think that the religious conservatives are wrong in what we believe, but at least they have not forgotten what it really means to believe something. The religious liberals seem to me to be not even wrong!”  “It is not safe to assume that religious persecution and holy wars are perversions of true religion.”