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CONTENTS

PREFACE

Many pioneers of the scientific arena, most of the founders of
modern science, have reached conclusions of metaphysical nature,
on the basis of the study of nature and its intelligibility. For
instance, the idea of a divine origin and order is characteristic of
Isaac Newton’s thinking. In conclusion to his major work,
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, he wrote: "This
most elegant system of the sun, planets and comets could not have
arisen without the design and dominion of an intelligent and
1
powerful being" . Neither was Albert Einstein a stranger to
metaphysical reflection, stating for example: "The individual feels
the vanity of human desires and aims, and the nobility and
marvelous order which are revealed in nature and in the world of
thought. He feels the individual destiny as an imprisonment and
seeks to experience the totality of existence as a unity full of
2
significance" . Georges Lemaître, one of the principal founders of
modern cosmology, proposed the following idea: "Science is
beautiful, worthy in its own right of love and service, given that it
3
reflects the creative thought of God" . Another eminent figure of
th
20 century physics, Abdus Salam, stated that: "For the believer,
this wonderful world structure which our intelligence has reached
is no more than the briefest glimpse of the divine plan, akin to
plucking a few threads from a spectacular tapestry. The only
attitude that we can adopt when faced with the profound depth of
the world’s radiant beauty in our exploration of it is one of
4
religious respect" .

1 Newton, Isaac, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Scholie general.
2
Einstein, Albert, Œuvres choisies, Volume 5, Seuil-CNRS, 1991, p.156.
3 This idea was proposed in 1934, on receiving the Francqui Prize.
4
Abdus Salam un physicien, Entretien avec Jacques Vauthier, ed. Beauchesne, 1990.