Thursday, January 18, 2018

Robert J. Sawyer: Calculating God

Robert J. Sawyer
Calculating God

I found this an intriguing novel  It's a first contact novel with a surprising theme.   An alien spaceship lands on the grounds of the Royal Ontario Museum.  The aliens speak English, of course, and ask to see a paleontologist.  This happens to be Thomas Jericho, who by the way is an atheist.  This is important.

The aliens want permission to study the large collection of fossils held by the museum.  They are looking for more evidence that will scientifically establish the existence of god.  According to the aliens, there are three sentient races,including humans, in this part of the universe, and all three have suffered five catastrophic events at about the same time, all of which actually increased the probability of sentient life developing on those three planets.  Hollus, one of the aliens, believed this to be proof of a guiding intelligence who is trying to develop sentience in the universe.

Much of the novel consists of philosophical discussions regarding the findings and their implications.   Jericho, being an atheist, provides a counter-argument to the aliens' conclusions.   These discussions do not involve religion or theology to any extent.  Sawyer does speculate somewhat on the reactions of the various religious groups to the aliens' and their conclusions.  The discussions between Jericho and the alien Hollus are solely on the basis of physical evidence and its interpretations.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting novel on a very hotly debated issue, but it was brought out in a way I had never seen before.   It is not a novel that works to persuade its readers in one direction or the other.   It simply speculates on what would happen if there was unequivocal physical evidence for the existence of God in non-religious or theological setting. 

14 comments:

  1. I tend to like philosophical science fiction and religion is a good subject to delve into. You describe the book as approaching the issue in a unique way. That is even better.

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    1. Brian Joseph, I don't remember ever having read a novel that treats this subject in this way. I think it's unique in SF/F.

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  2. a scary idea... i think i would prefer a non-sentient universe; computers are going to take over pretty quick, anyhow... the most believable proposal would be if there was a God and he was a robot... like Daneel Olivaw...

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    1. Mudpuddle, you don't like the idea of a guiding hand. Interesting you would prefer a God made in man's image--a robot.

      What about the guiding hand disturbs you?

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    2. irregardless of what i said above, i believe in physics, chemistry, and evolution... as far as i can see, what we regard as life is a product of natural forces; no imagined beings necessary...

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    3. Mudpuddle, OK, that's clear enough. That's also my stand--a product of natural forces.

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    4. ..and I, obviously, third that!

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  3. I'm going to be slightly obtuse and say: a very hotly debated issue????????

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    1. CyberKitten, yes, very hotly and in some places people are killing others on the wrong side of the debate.

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  4. I think that the last time it was hotly debated here was some time in the 17th century..... [muses]..... possibly the 16th come to think of it..... [muses some more]. These days it's hardly debated at even a moderately warm level which I find much more pleasant.

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  5. CyberKitten, unfortunately I can't say the same for the US. The bombing, vandalizing, or trashing of churches, synagogues, and mosques have increased within the past decade. It's hard to say whether this is racial, religious, or fear of the outsider.

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    1. All 3 I would guess from the news items I've seen.

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    2. CyberKitten, yes, it could be a mix of the three.

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