Thursday, December 27, 2007

Newton and God?

If found this on page 125 of "Einstein" by Walter Isaacson and it impressed me a lot. I think this explains the fact that science and religion are not separate, but two paths to the same goal.

The concept of absolute time - meaning a time that exists in reality, and tick-tocks along independent of any observations of it, had been a mainstay of physics ever since Newton had made it a premise of his Principia. The same is true for absolute space and distance. "Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself and from its own nature, flows equably without relation to anything external" wrote Newton. Absolute space, in its own nature, without relation to anything external, remains always similar and immovable.

But even Newton seemed discomforted by the fact that these concepts could not be directly observed. "Absolute time is not an object of perception," he admitted. He resorted to relying on the presence of God to get him out of the dilemma. "The Deity endures forever and is everywhere present, and by existing always and everywhere, He constitutes duration and space."

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