The Probability of God: Stephen Unwin
Stephen Unwin has a doctorate in theoretical physics (his field of
research was “quantum gravity,” or the attempt to unify quantum
mechanics and general relativity), and runs a consulting firm specializing
in risk management; i.e. the assessment of probabilities that can’t be
known with certainty.
Questions to answer during the CBC “Tapestry” interview:
1. What does Unwin mean when he says “uncertainty” plays a role in
his belief in God? (He starts with this point, and comes back to it at the end of the
interview.)
2. Why was he a little nervous about trying to calculate the “probability of God”? How
did he get past it?
3. What is the “Bayesian” school of probability (as opposed to other understandings of
probability theory)?
4. Why is Unwin not impressed by the “intelligent design/rose petal” argument?
5. What about “looking for God in science”?
6. What are some of the arguments for God’s existence Unwin
actually does consider in his book?
7. How does Leibniz (and Unwin?) counter the atheist argument based on the
“problem of evil”?
8. What probability of God did Unwin start with? Why?
9. What does Unwin consider the strongest pro-atheist argument?
10. What about the strongest pro-theist position?
11. How has Unwin found music to be a transcendent experience?
12. What does Unwin mean by expressing his concern about “faith seepage”?
13. What final probability does Unwin come up with?