Reconciling the evidence for the Uncertainty Principle with belief in an omniscient G-d

Question

One of the foundations of modern quantum mechanics is the Uncertainty Principle. This principle is not an assumption, but rather is derived from assumptions made with regard to the structure of nature. The basic statement of the Uncertainty Principle, however, is that it is impossible to know the values of certain characteristics to within an arbitrary accuracy.

If the Uncertainty Principle is a fundamental aspect of the universe, G-d cannot be omniscient. So far, every experiment ever tested on the matter has borne out the practical implications of this principle and yielded the predicted results. How do Jews square this fact with their belief in an omniscient G-d?

Answer 1

The uncertainty principle actually helped the religious case. Before quantum mechanics, people assumed the world was entirely deterministic, without any place for the will of God or man to change anything. Pierre Laplace claimed that one could know the entire future and present just by looking at all the atoms at one point in time. Einstein held so strongly to this deterministic view that he refused to accept the evidence for Quantum Mechanics.

But with quantum mechanics, God can invisibly intervene with the running of the universe without it being detected and without breaking any laws of nature. Since the position of the particles cannot be predicted with certainty, they can also be influenced without detection.

Answer 2

Others can (I hope) provide a more complete answer, but I believe the simple answer is that God exists outside of space and time, and hence is not bound by their restrictions. Just because something is unknowable to humans does not make it beyond the control of God.

Answer 3

To say what others have answered in different words:

G-d's Holy Name, The Tetragrammaton, is a combination of “Haya” (was), “Hoveh” (is) and “Yihyeh” (will be).

When we say G-d exists out of time we're saying that for G-d the past, present, and future are as one. G-d does not experience time linearly, as we do. Rather, he sees it all as now. (See here)

In this sense, G-d is omniscient because all that will happen to us in the future is already known by G-d, since he - so to speak - is experiencing it now (or has already experienced it).

So, while the outcome of a certain action may presently be unknown to us (due to the Uncertainty Principle), in the future (once it has already occurred) we will know the outcome.

G-d knows that future now.

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In response to the comment. This is what is says on Wikipedia (Which is just about the extent of my knowledge of the subject):

To measure the velocity of a particle, one must bounce other particles off of it, but such detection necessarily affects the particle being measured. The uncertainty principle says, for instance, that it is impossible to measure a particle's velocity in any moment and then have any hope of measuring its location for that moment (since the act of measurement of velocity immediately changed that particle's location). The observer must choose their knowledge of one time: the particle's location, or knowledge of its velocity.

To focus on the first part of that statement, this is my understanding of it. When observing something outside of yourself, you must interact with it. By definition, observing is something you do to something else, something separate from you. Since it is separate from you, the only way to examine it is interact with it. Interacting with it however, will affect it, and therefore we can never really know what it truly is, only how it reacts to our interaction.

But what if the thing you're examining is not separate from you, what if you just know it because it's you, not because you've examined something external?

To quote from this article (and please read it for context):

Maimonides, therefore, states that if we are to ascribe to G-d the knowledge of all beings and all events, we must conclude that: (a) His knowledge of the countless facts that comprise our existence are, in truth, but a single knowing -- His knowledge of self (since what we call "existence" is merely the expression of His infinite potential to create); and (b) He does not know Himself via a "mind" that is a distinct from Him, but that He, His knowledge and His "mind" are an utterly singular unit.

If that's the case, the Uncertainty Principle wouldn't kick in, since G-d wouldn't have to examine it in order to know it.

Answer 4

The uncertainty principle is a principle in physics limited to objects that are bound by it. G-d is above physics, therefore, is not bound by its rules.

Physical objects cannot create something from nothing, G-d can.

Physical objects cannot see the future, G-d can.

Physical objects must have a beginning, G-d doesn't.

Moreover, G-d can violate rules of common sense.

Answer 5

The Uncertainty Principle puts a limit on the measurement of certain attributes. Position and momentum, for example, cannot be each accurately measured to an arbitrary degree of accuracy. This appears to be a fundamental principle of the way the world works, not anything to do with our measurement ability, and is intimately related to wave-particle duality. The attributes do not necessarily exist at all until they are measured, and if they do, it is as a mixture of the two.

G-d is omniscient. He is aware of all facts, even ones such as the position and momentum of every particle at all times.

So how can the reconcile the two? Previous answers have referenced G-d being outside of time, but they do not answer the fundamental question. Another answer would seem to be that G-d is aware of the whole state of the system, in all its superpositional glory, but that doesn't address the issue either.

The question is, if there is no "fact of the matter" about the position and momentum of a particle, how can an omniscient G-d know them?

The answer to any particular questions about the position and momentum of a particle have answers, but the questions do not simultaneously have answers, and an omniscient G-d is not any less omniscient for not knowing non-information.

Answer 6

Although the other answers about G-d not being limited by his rules is accurate, I don't believe the question has a beginning.

Heisenberg's principle is based on physical observations/measurements affecting the values of the measurement's target.

Since G-d is omniscient he doesn't need to make physical observations, He is knowing of all values- unaffected.

Answer 7

As the Creator of all things, including, but not limited to, time, the "laws" of physics, logic, and existence itself, G-d is not bound by any of them. Can G-d create a rock that He is unable to pick up? Yes, and He can also pick it up. How? Why? Because logic does not apply to G-d. Go argue with that (you can't; argument requires logic :-D). The same holds true here.

Even if the Uncertainty Principle is true (I'm not arguing that it is not, I'm just being cautious. Scientific theories are continually being disproved and replaced, so I'm covering myself ;-) ), it's rules would not apply to G-d because it is His creation, and therefore has no authority over Him.

My answer is not that different from what has already been said, but nobody has said it quite the same way, which I feel is important.

Answer 8

as explained above, G-d instituted the Uncertainty principle as part of the framework of existence necessary for life. it is His invention so of course He is not bound to it.

if you look into it further, you will see that like the other laws of physics, it is essential for the existence of life.

how so? as explained here, without the uncertainty principle, electrons would collapse into protons thus destroying all matter. the reason this does not happen is because the electrons cannot be localized to too much precision so they exist as a kind of particle/wave cloud around the nucleus.

Answer 9

In Wikipedia's article "Uncertainty principle" we read:

To measure the velocity of a particle, one must bounce other particles off of it, but such detection necessarily affects the particle being measured. The uncertainty principle says, for instance, that it is impossible to measure a particle's velocity in any moment and then have any hope of measuring its location for that moment (since the act of measurement of velocity immediately changed that particle's location). The observer must choose their knowledge of one time: the particle's location, or knowledge of its velocity.

The uncertainty comes from having to bounce particles off the other particle. This is our method of determining the velocity of a particle. However, this may not be the only method of making the determination. G-d created the particle and therefore can know its position and velocity at any time without having to observe it as we do.

It's true that the uncertainty principle is actually more fundamental, in that wave-like systems cannot have the pair of properties known to arbitrary accuracy BY US. But that's because we are IN the universe. We simply do not know what other ways there are to know things, besides the ones involving material things in the universe. Perhaps if we stepped outside the current space-time, we would see there are other ways of knowing things that we cannot know within the system.

Answer 10

The idea of uncertainty is that we cannot determine with accuracy. God doesn't determine. He knows from the inside. He is the force of existence within everything. Even if there is no equation, He knows it because He gives its essence.

There is a basis for the uncertainty concept within Kabbalah. The highest level that can be related to is Chachmah, which translates to Knowledge. There is still another, higher level which corresponds to Will, which by definition is not rule bound. This contains interminable and all encompassing rules.

We are taught that this world was built to mirror the whole existence. For this reason, although in the everyday bigger picture there is a rule for everything. When you dig deep into the origin of its elementary makeup, you find uncertainty.

Answer 11

As I heard from a professional physicist quote a Nobel prize winning physicist that he works with "People think that physics is about what the universe is. This is a mistake. Physics is about what we can say about the universe."