Unbelievable? Atoms, Aliens and the Meaning of Everything: Paul Ewart vs Simon Walker-Samuel hosted by Sam McKee
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Oct 30, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Paul Ewart, an Oxford emeritus professor of atomic and laser physics and advocate for faith in science, debates with Simon Walker-Samuel, a UCL biophysicist and trustee of Humanists UK. They explore whether science and religion are in conflict, touching on topics like AI, consciousness, and the limits of reductionism. Ewart argues that Christianity provides deeper meaning beyond science, while Walker-Samuel approaches humanism and morality from a materialist perspective, questioning the implications of evidence and divine existence.
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Christianity And The Rise Of Modern Science
- Paul Ewart says Christianity helped create a worldview that made modern science possible by expecting a rational, law-governed universe.
- He argues that belief in a rational Creator motivated early scientific inquiry and trust in discoverable laws.
Science's Limits And Metaphysical Claims
- Paul Ewart acknowledges science limits itself to natural causes and methods and cannot by itself deny non-scientific realities.
- He treats belief that nothing exists beyond science as itself a faith claim outside scientific proof.
Science As Method And The Supernatural
- Simon Walker-Samuel frames science primarily as a method to build reproducible models and measureable interactions.
- He argues unverifiable supernatural claims that don't interact measurably with the world can be suspended as non-existent.
