From the Templeton Foundation:

"For centuries, Western science and philosophy has been built on the bedrock understanding that there is a clear difference between the material and the immaterialÑor, in theological terms, between the natural and the supernatural. What if new scientific findings hinted that the distinction might present an inaccurate view of reality? Observations like that, if proven, would cause a revolution in thought.

That tantalizing philosophical possibility was one of the reasons behind Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality, a scientific conference sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, and held at St. AnneÕs College, Oxford University, from September 26-29. The goal: to identify and explore a cutting-edge series of quantum-based questions about the nature of reality.

The conference attracted 83 of the worldÕs most celebrated philosophers, theoreticians, and experimental scientists, including quantum physicists Tony Leggett and Anton Zeilinger, mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, and Royal Society president and astronomer Martin Rees. The star-studded event, described by one observer as Òthe best minds asking the biggest questions,Ó was held in honor of the 80th birthday of John Polkinghorne, the eminent Cambridge physicist and 2002 Templeton Prize winner. In an opening address to the scholarly gathering, Polkinghorne claimed that quantum physics, which challenges our commonsense notions of reality, has the potential to lead a scientific revolution more radical and consequential than that brought about by Einstein and relativity.

ÒThe discussions were notable for the respect shown for the way that the different disciplines could contribute to each other,Ó said Andrew Briggs, an Oxford physicist and conference co-chairman. ÒDr. Polkinghorne more than once remarked on the impressive involvement of experimentalists. It does indeed seem that conditions are excellent for further experimental progress in elucidating the nature of quantum reality.Ó

What does it mean to speak of Òquantum reality,Ó as distinct from ordinary reality? Classical physics operates according to laws, which dependably explain how reality, as we experience it, works. But at the quantum (atomic and subatomic) level, these laws break down, resulting in bizarre phenomena that scientists are only beginning to understand. Quantum entanglement, for example, occurs when two distinct particles are observed ÒaffectingÓ each other from far away, apparently instantaneously. A befuddled Einstein called this Òspooky action at a distance.Ó


Results from nearly a century of quantum experiments profoundly challenge our commonsensical notions of reality, and in turn, pose dramatic philosophical questions about the fabric of space and time, even the nature of truth. Quantum theory is currently enjoying a season of fertile growth, particularly in the new field of quantum information, which explores the concept that information, not spacetime, may be the basis for reality.

If proven true, quantum information theory would dramatically blur, if not collapse, the distinction between immaterial ÒideasÓ and material reality. As physicist Hyung Choi, who directs the FoundationÕs programs in mathematical and physical sciences, explains, ÒQuantum mechanics seems to be telling us that information may not be just a representation of reality, but may be, in some sense, reality itself. If this turns out to be the case, this could have a very significant impact on our philosophical framework. It would somehow bring together a sense of unity in our understanding of reality.Ó

Choi points out that Sir John Templeton was so passionate about the connection between visible and invisible reality that he devoted an entire chapter in his book Possibilities for One Hundredfold More Spiritual Information to the topic.

ÒQuantum physics deals with the boundary between the seen and the unseen,Ó says Choi. ÒBernard dÕEspagnat won the Templeton Prize for making a conceptual advance, through quantum physics, [indicating] that the material world is a Ôveiled reality,Õ a window into the unseen. ThatÕs what Sir John cared about. He said that the seen is the ladder to the unseen, and that in his view, there is a continuum in reality, physical and spiritual. I donÕt think he ever divided them.Ó"