Augustine Pamplany CST
Walter Kohn (1923-2016) was an Austrian-American theoretical physicist and chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1998 for his findings in development of the density functional theory. His works helped scientists understand better the ele-ctronic structure of the atoms and molecules. He also made original contributions to semiconductor physics. He obtained his Ph.D in physics from Harvard University in 1948. He served as professor of physics University of California for nearly two decades.
In an interview on July 26, 2001, entitled “Dr. Walter Kohn: Science, Religion, and the Human Experience,” Kohn said that his Jewish background has enriched his own life. He was, influenced “by the writings of Einstein who has made remarks to the effect that when he contemplated the world he sensed an underlying Force much greater than any human force. I feel very much the same. There is a sense of awe, a sense of reverence, and a sense of great mystery.”
He believed in a sort of deistic God who created the world in the beginning and then left the creation to evolve according to the laws of nature. “I see no reason to believe that every once in a while the laws of nature, that as scientists we study, are suspended by divine intervention.” At the same time, he ruled out total mechanism and determinism which holds that everything in nature and human life are pre-determined according to certain laws. He said, “I do not see the universe as necessarily proceeding in a simple, totally predictable, mechanistic fashion. There continue to be very deep epistemological questions about the significance of sharp scientific laws like the laws of quantum mechanics and the laws that govern the nature of chaos.”
He advocated “mutual respect” between science and religion. “They are complementary important parts of the human experience.” As regards the existence of God, he said, “There are essential parts of the human experience about which science intrinsically has nothing to say. I associate them with an entity which I call God.”
He also had a personal interaction with Pope John Paul II. In his lecture at the University of California, on April 20, 2001, titled, “Reflections of a Physicist after an Encounter with the Vatican and Pope John Paul II,” he said that he fosters “a conviction that science alone is an insufficient guide to life, leaving many deep questions unanswered and needs unfulfilled.”
