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What God, Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness Have in Common
上帝、量子力学和意识有什么共同之处
Why do we exist? The answer, according to the major monotheistic religions, including the Catholic faith in which I was raised, is that an all-powerful, supernatural entity created us. This deity loves us, as a human father loves his children, and wants us to behave in a certain way. If we’re good, He’ll reward us. If we’re bad, He’ll punish us. (I use the pronoun “He” because most scriptures describe God as male.)
我们为什么存在？答案是，根据主要的一神论宗教，包括天主教信仰，我就是在这种信仰中长大的，是全能的超自然实体创造了我们。这位神爱我们，就像人类的父亲爱他的孩子一样，并希望我们以某种方式行事。如果我们表现好，他会奖赏我们。如果我们表现不好，他则会惩罚我们。（我用“他”这个代词，因为大多数圣经都把上帝描述成男性。）
My main objection to this explanation of reality is the problem of evil. A casual glance at human history, and at the world today, reveals enormous suffering and injustice. If God loves us and is omnipotent, why is life so horrific for so many people? A standard response to this question is that God gave us free will; we can choose to be bad as well as good.
我反对这种对现实的解释的主要理由是邪恶的问题。随便看一眼人类历史和当今世界，就会发现巨大的苦难和不公。如果上帝爱我们并且无所不能，为什么生活对那么多人来说如此可怕？对这个问题的标准回答是，上帝给了我们自由意志；我们可以选择变坏，也可以选择变好。
The late, great physicist Steven Weinberg, an atheist, who died in July, slaps down the free will argument in his book Dreams of a Final Theory. Noting that Nazis killed many of his relatives in the Holocaust, Weinberg asks: Did millions of Jews have to die so the Nazis could exercise their free will? That doesn’t seem fair. And what about kids who get cancer? Are we supposed to think that cancer cells have free will? On the other hand, life isn’t always hellish. We experience love, friendship, adventure and heartbreaking beauty. Could all this really come from random collisions of particles?
已故的伟大物理学家、无神论者史蒂文·温伯格于今年7月去世，他在自己的著作《终极理论之梦》中抨击了自由意志理论。温伯格注意到纳粹在大屠杀中杀害了他的许多亲戚，他问道：难道数百万犹太人必须死去，才能让纳粹行使他们的自由意志吗？这似乎不公平。那得了癌症的孩子呢？我们应该认为癌细胞有自由意志吗？另一方面，生活并不总是像地狱。我们经历爱情、友谊、冒险和令人心碎的美丽。所有这些真的来自粒子的随机碰撞吗？
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