Did Physics [Cosmology] Render God Unnecessary? A Critical Assessment of The Grand Design

Abstract

In this study, we will consider the claim, defended by world-renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking and science writer Leonard Mlodinow in their book The Grand Design, that science is able to explain the universe as a whole and that therefore there is no need to appeal to a supernatural being in order to account for the coming into existence of the universe out of nothing and its fine-tuned order. In this regard, we will first analyze the extent to which M-theory is scientific. For M-theory is mainly mentioned by Hawking and Mlodinow as the theory that explains scientifically the generation of the universe out of nothing and why the universe is the way it is. In the second part, the conception of science that Hawking and Mlodinow adopt on the basis of the model dependent realism will be analyzed. Moreover, we will call attention to some problems that are rooted in the increased gap between theory and experiment in contemporary physics. In the last part of the article, we will analyze the subject matter from Islamic viewpoint in a theological manner, and hereby we will attempt to answer the question 'what is an ideal relationship between science and religion in Islamic thought'? The general aim of the article is to demonstrate that M-theory,which is believed to be able to explain the generation of the universe, does not possess the scientific criteria for testability and that the claim that "physics renders God unnecessary" has no value other than being a speculative statement.

Keywords

• Kalām
• God
• Physics
• Cosmology
• Science
• M-Theory
• Kelâm
• Tanrı
• Fizik
• Kozmoloji
• Bilim
• M-Kuramı