Purposeless physics, evolution

“Science cannot explain everything in human life,” Fr. Cecilio Magsino said in his letter (2/27/19) in response to my commentary “The poverty of the human mind in the 21st century” (2/21/19).

Science never claims it can explain everything, but neither can religion. “Religion did not hinder science; it fostered science.”

I agree. When it failed to explain earthquakes, diseases, gravity, etc., science took the mantle and explained them. Is science done with them? No, science is a work in progress.

Father Magsino misunderstood the whole idea of a purposeless physics and evolution. I was simply saying that we, along with all entities on earth, are products of a mindless process.

What some would call predestination is fundamentally algorithmic processes governed by the laws of physics, and not by a supernatural entity.

If you leave a pile of gravel on a beach, it will sort itself out by established natural laws. The waves and other forces causing such do not have any purpose in that process.

The good Father Magsino may not have been aware that the Vatican has accepted evolution since Pope Pius XII (in the ’50s). Succeeding Popes have not only affirmed but have also endorsed it.

EDWIN DE LEON, edwingdeleon@gmail.com