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Education
John Polkinghorne began his education at a local primary school in Somerset, followed by homeschooling, then Quaker school and ultimately wound up at the Perse School in Cambridge. He then enlisted in the Royal Army Educational Corp from 1948-1949. Polkinghorne then studied mathematics at Trinity College in Cambridge graduating as "Senior Wrangler" (Top mathematics undergraduate) in 1952. He then studied under Abdus Salam and Paul Dirac and earned his PhD in physics in 1955. -
Early Career in Physics
In 1955 Polkinghorne moved to America and accepted a postdoctoral Harkness Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. In 1956 he took up a lecturer position at the University of Edinburgh. In 1958 he went back to Cambridge to teach and from 1968 to 1979 he was a professor in mathematical physics. Polkinghorne's theories and research in particle physics played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Quark. For 25 years Polkinghorne was one of the worlds top quantum physicists. -
Priesthood
Feeling as though he had "done his bit for science" Polkinghorne left Physics in 1977 to study for priesthood at Wescott House and in 1982 he became an ordained priest. In 1986 he returned to Cambridge as Dean of chapel at Trinity Hall. From 1986-1996 he was president of Queen's College after which he retired. -
Science and Religon
Throughout his career John Polkinghorne has argued that science and religion are not mutually exclusive and has said "the nearest analogy in the physical world to god would be the quantum vacuum". He believes there are five major ways in which physics and religion exhibit similar features " Moments of enforced radical revision, periods of unresolved confusion, new synthesis and understanding, continued wrestling with unresolved problems and deeper implications". -
Sources
Sources:
Fehige, Yiftach J. H. “QUANTUM PHYSICS AND THEOLOGY: JOHN POLKINGHORNE ON THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS.” Zygon® 47.2 (2012): 256–288. Web Polkinghorne, John. Belief in God in an Age of Science, Yale University Press, 1998. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/detail.action?docID=3421118. John Polkinghorne - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polkinghorne. Accessed 8 June 2019 -
Quick Videos on John's views of Science and Religion
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Bibliography
John Polkinghorne has written a vast amount of works throughout his career so I have included some of the most influential here. Belief in god in an Age of Science
Polkinghorne, J. C. Belief in God in an Age of Science. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1998. Print Physics and Theology
Polkinghorne, John, and Polkinghorne, John. “PHYSICS AND THEOLOGY.” Europhysics News 45.1 (2014): 28–28. Web -
Bibliography Continued
Science and religion in Quest of Truth
Polkinghorne, J. C. Science and Religion in Quest of Truth. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011. Print. Quantum Physics and Theology an Unexpected Kinship
Polkinghorne, J. C. Quantum Physics and Theology an Unexpected Kinship . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. Print Theology in the Context of Science
Polkinghorne, J. C. Theology in the Context of Science. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Print -
Conclusion
Polkinghorne was one of the world's top physicists who helped discover the quark. Feeling he had done his time in physics he joined the priesthood and has played a major role in the marriage of theology and physics. He has authored several dozen books detailing his theory that science and religion are not all that different and may even be connected. John believes that mathematics is the language of god and has said "Mathematics is the abstract key which turns the physical universe".
