FRS 002L — Sec. 001 — (2 units) — CRN 53091 — T 5:10 – 7:00 pm — 25 Wellman
Modern Physics, Cosmology and Religion

Instructor: John Jungerman, Department of Physics, College of Letters and Science

Description: This course begins with a discussion of the methods for determining truth in science and religion and the relationship of science and religion in the West. This seminar explores the ideas of modern physics using relativity and quantum mechanics to show that our world is interconnected, indeterminate, and not predictable at the level of individual particles, and is a source of spontaneous creativity — in contrast to the Newtonian view. We briefly discuss non-linear, self organizing systems to explore their creativity and lack of predictability. From the vantage point of particle physics we shall explore the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe. We shall discuss the evolution of the cosmos, including the delicate balance of physical constants and forces that have permitted life to evolve. Throughout the course we shall relate our physical universe to the process philosophy of Alfred N. Whitehead and the theology derived from it.

Format: Class will meet for 8 weeks starting at the beginning of the quarter for two hours of presentation and discussion. A video will be shown in most sessions. Students will write a two-page essay each week describing their personal reactions to that week’s assignment from the texts and handouts. During class students will be divided into several groups to discuss the assignment among themselves and then report their findings to the class. Grading: Students will be graded on their intellectual contribution to the discussions (50%) and on the quality of their essays (50%).

Texts: World in Process, Interconnection and Creativity in the New Physics, John A. Jungerman.
When Science Meets Religion, Ian Barbour.

Guest Lecturer: T. William Hall is Professor Emeritus of Syracuse University, where, for twenty years, he was Professor of Religion, specializing in Philosophy of Religion.

About the Instructor: Professor Jungerman received his Ph.D. degree in nuclear physics from the University of California, Berkeley subsequent to war-time involvement with the Manhattan Project. He was a faculty member in the Physics Department of the University of California, Davis, from 1951 to 1991 and presently is Professor of Physics Emeritus. He was recalled to teach (with Prof. P. Craig) a course they initiated on “The Science and Technology of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Arms Control” and another on “Environmental Physics.” Prof. Jungerman recently has also given a course on “Modern Physics and Religion” at the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley. He was Founding Director of Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, and more recently served for several years as Chair of the Department of Physics at UCD. In 2000 this course was awarded a Templeton Prize to encourage dialogue between science and religion.