Mehdi Golshani
Encyclopedia
Mehdi Golshani is a contemporary Iranian
theoretical physicist and philosopher and Professor of physics at Sharif University of Technology
. He received his B.Sc.
in Physics from Tehran University in 1959 and his Ph.D.
in Physics
with a specialization in particle physics
in 1969 from the University of California, Berkeley
. The title of his doctoral dissertation is "Electron impact excitation of heavily ionized atoms".
, particle physics
, physical cosmology
and philosophical implications of quantum mechanics
. He is known as a thinker for his writings on science, religion and their interrelation.
Golshani is the founder and chairman of the Faculty of Philosophy of Science
at Sharif University of Technology
. He is also the director of Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran, and a Professor at Physics Department of Sharif University of Technology, as well as a Senior Fellow of School of Physics at Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics
(IPM).
He is a member of American Association of Physics Teachers, and Center for Theology and Natural Science, as well as a Senior Associate of International Centre for Theoretical Physics
, Trieste, Italy. He is also Member of Philosophy of Science Association, Michigan
, U.S.
and European Society for the Study of Science and Theology.
He has been among the winners of the first year of the Templeton Science & Religion course program and also among the Former Judges of The Templeton Prize. Golshani is a fellow of Islamic World Academy of Sciences IAS.
He has written numerous books and articles on physics, philosophy of physics, science and religion, as well as science and theology. In most of Golshani’s works, there is a clear attempt to help revive the scientific spirit in the Muslim world.
On the interrelationship of science and religion
On Christianity and the development of modern science
As a contributor
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
theoretical physicist and philosopher and Professor of physics at Sharif University of Technology
Sharif University of Technology
Sharif University of Technology is a university of higher education in technology, engineering and physical sciences in Tehran. Sharif University of Technology is one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and is considered Iran's MIT...
. He received his B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Physics from Tehran University in 1959 and his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
with a specialization in particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
in 1969 from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. The title of his doctoral dissertation is "Electron impact excitation of heavily ionized atoms".
Career
Mehdi Golshani is a distinguished lecturer. His main research areas include foundational physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, physical cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
and philosophical implications of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
. He is known as a thinker for his writings on science, religion and their interrelation.
Golshani is the founder and chairman of the Faculty of Philosophy of Science
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Sharif University of Technology
Sharif University of Technology
Sharif University of Technology is a university of higher education in technology, engineering and physical sciences in Tehran. Sharif University of Technology is one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and is considered Iran's MIT...
. He is also the director of Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran, and a Professor at Physics Department of Sharif University of Technology, as well as a Senior Fellow of School of Physics at Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics
Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics
The Institute for research in fundamental sciences is a government-sponsored advanced research institute founded in 1989 in Tehran, Iran. The institute was the first Iranian organization to connect to the Internet...
(IPM).
He is a member of American Association of Physics Teachers, and Center for Theology and Natural Science, as well as a Senior Associate of International Centre for Theoretical Physics
International Centre for Theoretical Physics
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1964 by Pakistani scientist and Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam after consulting with Munir Ahmad Khan. It operates under a tripartite agreement among the Italian Government, UNESCO, and International Atomic Energy Agency...
, Trieste, Italy. He is also Member of Philosophy of Science Association, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and European Society for the Study of Science and Theology.
He has been among the winners of the first year of the Templeton Science & Religion course program and also among the Former Judges of The Templeton Prize. Golshani is a fellow of Islamic World Academy of Sciences IAS.
He has written numerous books and articles on physics, philosophy of physics, science and religion, as well as science and theology. In most of Golshani’s works, there is a clear attempt to help revive the scientific spirit in the Muslim world.
Views
on the foundation of quantum mechanics- he is mainly concerned with the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics and the possible more realistic alternatives, particularly Bohmian Mechanics.
On the interrelationship of science and religion
- He is a Muslim scientist and thinker who has deep roots in both science and religion.
On Christianity and the development of modern science
- The biblical world view has had a significant impact in the development of scienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Professor Mehdi Golshani connotates a connection between a belief in the Biblical God and scientific breakthroughs by stating that Copernicus, KeplerJohannes KeplerJohannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...
, Galileo, BoyleRobert BoyleRobert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
, NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
and many other founders of science were all devout Christians. Western Science was largely constructed within the framework of a Christian world view, and was influenced by the following Biblical concepts:
Quotes
- "The conception of an omniscient and omnipotent personal God, [w]ho made everything in accordance with a rational plan and purpose, contributed to the notion of a rationally structured creation".
- "The notion of a transcendent God, [w]ho exists separate from His creation, served to counter the notion that the physical world, or any part of it, is sacred. Since the entire physical world is a mere creation, it was thus a fit object of study and transformation".
- "Since man was made in the image of God (Gen.1:26), which included rationality and creativity, it was deemed possible that man could discern the rational structure of the physical universe that God had made".
- "The cultural mandate, which appointed man to be God's steward over creation (Gen1:28), provided the motivation for studying nature and for applying that study towards practical ends, at the same time glorifying God for His wisdom and goodness".
- "In the popular mind, the two greatest historical conflicts between science and religion have been those involving Galileo and DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. - "The Galileo affair, in the early 17th century, was a complex dispute, inflamed by politicsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and personalities. It was primarily a family squabble within Christianity. Two different scientific research programs clashed, each program supported by its own group of Christian scientists. The central issue was the epistemological question of how to determine absolute motion. Should the absolute frame of reference be set by Biblical standards, by AristotelianAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
philosophy, by mathematical simplicity [...] or by other considerations? The difficulty was that the observational data in themselves can yield information only about relative motion. The question of absolute motion must thus be settled by extra-scientific definitions and considerations. As is now widely recognized, the resolution of this issue depends largely on one's worldview assumptions". - "The conflict precipitated by Darwin concerns primarily origins. How did life, in all its manifold forms, come to be? The dispute is not so much about observations of living things, fossils, geological formations, etc. but how to explain how they came to be. As such, the conflict involves questions concerning the ultimate nature of reality (e.g., can mind be explained entirely in terms of matter?), eschatology (e.g., does man have a non-material soul that survives physical death?)[...] and causation (e.g., does the origin of life require special divine acts?). Again, a central issue is one of epistemology: what role should divine revelation (e.g., the Bible) play in interpreting the results of observational science, in choosing the theories of science [...] and in informing our view of origins, etc? Here, too, it is clear that this conflict is rooted in a clash of opposing extra-scientific presuppositions".
Books
- تحليلى بر ديدگاههاى فلسفى فيزيكدانان معاصر (a Probe into the Philosophical Viewpoints of Contemporary Physicists). in Persian.
- علم دینی و علم سکولار (Secular and religious science). in Persian.
- Golshani, Mehdi. Holy Quran and the Sciences of Nature. Paperback ed. Studies in Contemporary Philosophical Th., 1997.
- From Physics to Metaphysics, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, 1998
- Golshani, Mehdi. Can Science Dispense with Religion? Hardcover ed. I.H.C.S., 1998.
- English Translation of the Holy Qur'an, Vol. 1, Islamic Propagation Organization, Tehran, 1991
As a contributor
- "The Sciences of Nature in an Islamic Perspective" in The Concept of Nature in Science & Theology (SSTh 4/1996), ed. by N. H. Gregersen et al. (Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1998), pp. 56–62.
- _ and Shojai, A. "Direct Particle Quantum Interaction" in Contemporary Fundamental Physics, 1, ed. by V.V. Dvoeglazor (Huntington, New York: Nova PublishersNova PublishersNova Publishers is an academic publisher based in Hauppauge, New York of books and journals for an academic audience. The company focuses on science, political science, European and Asian studies, and security studies. It was founded in 1985 in New York by Frank Columbus, former Vice-President of...
, Inc., 2000), p. 270. - "Ways of Understanding Nature in the Qur’anic Perspective" in The Interplay between Scientific and Theological Worldviews (SSTh 6/1998), ed. by N. H. Gregersen et al. (Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1999), p. 183.
- "Philosophy of Science from the Qur’anic Perspective" in Towards Islamization of Disciplines (Hendon, Virginia: International Institute of Islamic ThoughtInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtThe International Institute of Islamic Thought is a privately held non-profit organization.The Institution is concerned with issues of Islamic thought...
, 1989), p. 71. - "Theistic Science" in God for the Twenty First Century (USA: John Templeton Foundation, 2000).
- "Have Physicists Been Able to Dispense with Philosophy?" in Recent Advances in Relativity Theory, ed. by M. C. Duffy & M. Wegener (Palm Harbor, Fl. : Hadronic Press, 2001) p. 90.
- "The Ladder of God" in Faith in Science: Scientists Search for Truth (London: Routledge, Fall 2001).
- "Causality in the Islamic Outlook and in Modern Physics" in Studies in Science and Theology, Vol. 8, ed. by N. H. Gregersen (ESSSAT, Fall 2001).
Articles
- Golshani, Mehdi. "Does Science Offer Evidence of a Transcendent Reality and Purpose:." Islam and Science (Refereed) 1 (2003): 45-65.
- Golshani, Mehdi. "Some Important Questions Concerning the Relationship Between Science and Religion." Islam and Science 3.1 (2003): 63-83.
- Scientific Papers