Victor j stenger biography of abraham lincoln

American particle physicist, author, and religious skeptic (–)

Victor J. Stenger
Victor J. Stenger in
Born	January 29, [1] Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	August 25, () (aged&#;79)[2] Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Alma&#;mater	New Jersey Institute of Technology, UCLA
Spouse	Phylliss Marcia (Black) Stenger (m. )
Children	Noelle Green, Victor Andrew
Scientific career
Fields	Particle physics, philosophy
Thesis	Low Energy K+d Scattering and the I=0 KN Interaction &#;()
Doctoral advisor	Harold K. Ticho

Victor John Stenger (; January 29, &#;– August 25, ) was an American particle physicist, philosopher, author, and religious skeptic.

Following a career as a research scientist in the field of particle physics, Stenger was associated with New Atheism and he authored popular science books.^[3] He published twelve books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience, including the best-seller God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist.

His final book was God and the Multiverse: Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos (). He was a regular featured science columnist for the Huffington Post.^[4]

An advocate for removing the influence of religion from scientific research, commercial activity, and the political process,^[5] Stenger coined the quote: "Science flies you to the moon.

Biography of abraham lincoln books He never hesitated to answer emails from scientists and laypersons wanting to learn about the natural world. External links [ edit ]. Authority control databases. References [ edit ].

Religion flies you into buildings" (a reference to the September 11 attacks).^[6]

Personal life

Victor J. Stenger was born on January 29, , and raised in a working-class neighborhood of Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was a Lithuanian immigrant, and his mother was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants.^[7][8] He died on August 25, , at the age of ^[2]

Career

Education and employment

Stenger attended public schools in Bayonne, New Jersey, and received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Newark College of Engineering (now the New Jersey Institute of Technology).

He then moved to Los Angeles on a Hughes Aircraft Company fellowship, earning a Master of Science and PhD in physics from UCLA.^[9]

He was a member of the Department of Physics at the University of Hawaii until his retirement.^[1] He held visiting positions on the faculties of the University of Heidelberg in Germany and Oxford University (twice) and was a visiting researcher at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory^[10] in England, the National Nuclear Physics Laboratory in Frascati, Italy, and the University of Florence in Italy.^[11] He served as an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder.^[1][12]

Scientist

Stenger's first peer-reviewed work was published in , and his research career continued until his retirement in His research involved work that determined properties of gluons, quarks, strange particles, and neutrinos.^[9][12] Stenger focused on neutrino astronomy and very high-energy gamma rays.^[1][12]

Philosopher and skeptic

Stenger was an advocate of philosophical naturalism, skepticism, and atheism, and wrote several books and papers about the relationship between science and religion.

He was a prominent critic of intelligent design and the aggressive use of the anthropic principle. He maintained that if consciousness and free will do exist, they will eventually be explained in a scientific manner that invokes neither the mystical nor the supernatural.^[3] He criticized those who invoke the perplexities of quantum mechanics in support of the paranormal, mysticism, or supernatural phenomena, writing several books and articles to debunk contemporary pseudoscience.^[13]

Stenger took part in the "Origins Conference" hosted by the Skeptics Society at the California Institute of Technology^[12] and debated Hugh Ross on the topic of whether science supports belief in existence of God.^[14]

In , Uri Geller sued Stenger and Prometheus Books for $4&#;million, claiming defamation for questioning his "psychic powers." The suit was dismissed and Geller was ordered to pay court costs.^[15]

Astronomer Luke Barnes argued in a paper that many of Stenger's claims about fine-tuning were problematic and that his arguments were fallacious.^[16] Stenger responded that Barnes misunderstood and misrepresented his positions.^[17]

Professional and community positions

Publications by Stenger

Books for general audiences

• Not by Design: The Origin of the Universe, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• Physics and Psychics: The Search for a World Beyond the Senses, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• The Unconscious Quantum: Metaphysics in Modern Physics and Cosmology, Prometheus Books, , pp.&#;, ISBN&#;, retrieved
• Timeless Reality: Symmetry, Simplicity, and Multiple Universes, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• Has Science Found God?

  The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved

• The Comprehensible Cosmos: Where Do the Laws of Physics Come From?, Prometheus Books, , pp.&#;, ISBN&#;, retrieved
• God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• Quantum Gods: Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• God and the Atom, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;, archived from the original on , retrieved
• God and the Multiverse, Prometheus Books, , p.&#;, ISBN&#;

Peer-reviewed articles

• Stenger, Victor; Slater, W.

  E.; Stork, D. H.; Ticho, H. K. (June ), "K−N Interaction in the I=0 State at Low Energies", Physical Review, (B): B –B, BibcodePhRvS, doi/PhysRevB

• Stenger, Victor (15 September ), "The Production of Very High Energy Photons and Neutrinos from Cosmic Proton Sources", The Astrophysical Journal, : –, BibcodeApJS, doi/
• Stenger, Victor (3 October ), "Photinos from Cosmic Sources", Nature, (): –, BibcodeNaturS, doi/a0, S2CID&#;
• Stenger, Victor (March–April ), "The Extraterrestrial Flux Sensitivity of Underground and Undersea Muon Detectors", Il Nuovo Cimento C, 9 (2): –, BibcodeNCimCS, doi/BF, S2CID&#;
• Stenger, Victor (July ), "The Universe: the ultimate free lunch", European Journal of Physics, 11 (4): –, BibcodeEJPhS, doi//11/4/, S2CID&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Bioenergetic Fields", The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 3 (1), archived from the original on
• Stenger, Victor (), "Natural Explanations for the Anthropic Coincidences"(PDF), Philo, 3 (2): 50–67, doi/philo, archived from the original(PDF) on , retrieved

Other essays

• Stenger, Victor (May–June ), "The Myth of Quantum Consciousness"(PDF), The Humanist, vol.&#;53, pp.&#;13–15, archived from the original(PDF) on
• Stenger, Victor (), "New Age Physics: Has Science Found the Path to the Ultimate?"(PDF), Free Inquiry, vol.&#;16, no.&#;3, pp.&#;7–11, archived from the original(PDF) on , retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (), "Cosmythology: Was the Universe Designed to Produce Us?", Skeptic, vol.&#;4, no.&#;2, pp.&#;36–40
• Stenger, Victor (), "Quantum Metaphysics", in Brown, Laurence; Farr, Bernard; Hoffmann, Joseph (eds.), Modern Spiritualities: An Inquiry, Prometheus Books, pp.&#;–
• Stenger, Victor (), "Has Science Found God?", Free Inquiry, vol.&#;19, no.&#;1, pp.&#;56–58, archived from the original on , retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (), "The Anthropic Coincidences: A Natural Explanation", Skeptical Intelligencer, vol.&#;3, no.&#;3, pp.&#;2–17
• Stenger, Victor (July–August ), "Anthropic Design: Does the Cosmos Show Evidence of Purpose?", Skeptical Inquirer, vol.&#;23, no.&#;4, pp.&#;40–63, archived from the original on
• Ramey, David; Stenger, Victor (), "Energy Medicine", Consumer's Guide to Alternative Therapies in the Horse, Howell Book House, pp.&#;55–66, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "The Pseudophysics of Therapeutic Touch", in Scheiber, Béla; Selby, Carla (eds.), Therapeutic Touch, Prometheus Books, pp.&#;–, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), Intelligent Design: The New Stealth Creationism(PDF), archived from the original(PDF) on , retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (), "Humanity in Time and Space", Free Inquiry, vol.&#;21, no.&#;2, pp.&#;42–69
• Stenger, Victor (), "Time's Arrows Point Both Ways: The View From Nowhen"(PDF), Skeptic, vol.&#;8, no.&#;4, pp.&#;90–95, archived from the original(PDF) on , retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (September–October ), "The God of Falling Bodies", Skeptical Inquirer, vol.&#;25, no.&#;5, pp.&#;46–49, archived from the original on , retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (), "The Breath of God: Identifying Spiritual Force", in Kurtz, Paul (ed.), Skeptical Odysseys, Prometheus Books, pp.&#;–, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Anthropic Design: Does the Cosmos Show Evidence of Purpose?", in Kurtz, Paul (ed.), Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?, Prometheus Books, pp.&#;47–49, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "The Premise Keepers", Free Inquiry, vol.&#;23, no.&#;3
• Stenger, Victor (), "Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Us?", in Young, Matt; Edis, Taner (eds.), Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism, Rutgers University Press, pp.&#;–, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Flew's Flawed Science", Free Inquiry, vol.&#;25, no.&#;2, pp.&#;17–18, archived from the original on , retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (), "The Scientific Case Against a God Who Created the Universe", in Martin, Michael; Monnier, Ricki (eds.), The Improbability of God, Prometheus Books, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Do Our Values Come from God?

  The Evidence Says No"(PDF), Free Inquiry, vol.&#;26, no.&#;5, pp.&#;42–45, archived from the original(PDF) on , retrieved

• Stenger, Victor (), "A Scenario for a Natural Origin of Our Universe"(PDF), Philo, vol.&#;9, no.&#;2, pp.&#;93–, arXiv, retrieved
• Stenger, Victor (), "Clock Time", in Darity, William (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference USA, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Reality", in Darity, William (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference USA, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Physics, Cosmology, and the New Creationism", in Petto, Andrew; Godfrey, Laurie (eds.), Scientists Confront Creationism: Intelligent Design and Beyond, W.

  W. Norton & Company, Inc., ISBN&#;

• Stenger, Victor (March ), "Is the Brain a Quantum Device?", Skeptical Briefs, vol.&#;18, no.&#;1, pp.&#;9, 13
• Stenger, Victor (), "Where Can God Act? The New Quantum Theology", Free Inquiry, vol.&#;28, no.&#;5, pp.&#;1–36
• Stenger, Victor (), "Time, Arrow of", in Birx, H.

  James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;

• Stenger, Victor (), "Time, Asymmetry of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Time, Operational Definition of", in Birx, H.

  James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;

• Stenger, Victor (), "Universe, Origin of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Planck time", in Birx, H.

  James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;

• Stenger, Victor (), "Time, Symmetry of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;
• Stenger, Victor (), "Time, Units of", in Birx, H.

  James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN&#;

• Stenger, Victor (), "Free Will and Autonomous Will", Skeptic, vol.&#;17, no.&#;4, pp.&#;15–19

Columnist

From to Stenger wrote for the column "Reality Check," in Skeptical Briefs, the quarterly newsletter of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI).^[19]

Since August , he was also a regularly featured science columnist for the Huffington Post.^[4][20]

Pantheon of skeptics

Stenger has been included in CSI's Pantheon of Skeptics.

The Pantheon of Skeptics was created by CSI to remember the legacy of deceased fellows of CSI and their contributions to the cause of scientific skepticism.^[21]

References

External links