An advocate for removing the influence of religion from scientific research, commercial activity, and the political process,[4] Stenger coined the
quote: "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings".[5]
Personal life
Victor J. Stenger was born on January 29, 1935, and raised in a working-class neighborhood of
Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was a
Lithuanian immigrant, and his mother was the daughter of
Hungarian immigrants.[2] He died on August 25, 2014, at the age of 79.[6]
Stenger's first peer-reviewed work was published in 1964, and his research career continued until his retirement in 2000. His research involved work that determined properties of
gluons,
quarks,
strange particles, and
neutrinos.[7] Stenger focused on
neutrino astronomy and very high-energy
gamma rays.[citation needed]
Astronomer Luke Barnes argued in a 2012 paper that many of Stenger's claims about fine-tuning were problematic and that his arguments were fallacious.[14] Stenger responded that Barnes misunderstood and misrepresented his positions.[15]
Stenger, Victor; Slater, W. E.; Stork, D. H.; Ticho, H. K. (June 1964), "K−N Interaction in the I=0 State at Low Energies", Physical Review, 134 (B1111): B1111–B1123,
Bibcode:
1964PhRv..134.1111S,
doi:
10.1103/PhysRev.134.B1111
Stenger, Victor (15 September 1984), "The Production of Very High Energy Photons and Neutrinos from Cosmic Proton Sources", The Astrophysical Journal, 284: 810–816,
Bibcode:
1984ApJ...284..810S,
doi:10.1086/162463
Stenger, Victor (May–June 1993),
"The Myth of Quantum Consciousness"(PDF), The Humanist, vol. 53, pp. 13–15, archived from the original on 2011-06-06{{
citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)
Stenger, Victor (1996), "Cosmythology: Was the Universe Designed to Produce Us?", Skeptic, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 36–40
Stenger, Victor (1996), "Quantum Metaphysics", in Brown, Laurence; Farr, Bernard; Hoffmann, Joseph (eds.), Modern Spiritualities: An Inquiry, Prometheus Books, pp. 243–253
Stenger, Victor (1998),
"Has Science Found God?", Free Inquiry, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 56–58, archived from
the original on 2010-07-06, retrieved 2010-11-03
Stenger, Victor (1999), "The Anthropic Coincidences: A Natural Explanation", Skeptical Intelligencer, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 2–17
Ramey, David; Stenger, Victor (1999), "Energy Medicine", Consumer's Guide to Alternative Therapies in the Horse, Howell Book House, pp. 55–66,
ISBN978-1582450629
Stenger, Victor (2000), "The Pseudophysics of Therapeutic Touch", in Scheiber, Béla; Selby, Carla (eds.), Therapeutic Touch, Prometheus Books, pp. 302–311,
ISBN978-1-57392-804-5
Stenger, Victor (September–October 2001),
"The God of Falling Bodies", Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 46–49, archived from
the original on 2017-07-13, retrieved 2010-11-03
Stenger, Victor (2001), "The Breath of God: Identifying Spiritual Force", in Kurtz, Paul (ed.), Skeptical Odysseys, Prometheus Books, pp. 363–374,
ISBN978-1-57392-884-7
Stenger, Victor (2003), "The Premise Keepers", Free Inquiry, vol. 23, no. 3
Stenger, Victor (2004), "Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Us?", in Young, Matt;
Edis, Taner (eds.), Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism, Rutgers University Press, pp. 172–184,
ISBN978-0813538723
Stenger, Victor (2005),
"Flew's Flawed Science", Free Inquiry, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 17–18, archived from
the original on 2006-05-02, retrieved 2010-11-04
Stenger, Victor (2006), "The Scientific Case Against a God Who Created the Universe", in Martin, Michael; Monnier, Ricki (eds.), The Improbability of God, Prometheus Books,
ISBN978-1-59102-381-4
Stenger, Victor (2007), "Clock Time", in Darity, William (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference USA,
ISBN978-0028661179
Stenger, Victor (2007), "Reality", in Darity, William (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference USA,
ISBN978-0028661179
Stenger, Victor (2008), "Physics, Cosmology, and the New Creationism", in Petto, Andrew; Godfrey, Laurie (eds.), Scientists Confront Creationism: Intelligent Design and Beyond, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
ISBN978-0-393-33073-1
Stenger, Victor (2008), "Where Can God Act? The New Quantum Theology", Free Inquiry, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 1–36
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Arrow of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Asymmetry of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Operational Definition of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Universe, Origin of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Planck time", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Symmetry of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Units of", in Birx, H. James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc,
ISBN978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2012), "Free Will and Autonomous Will", Skeptic, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 15–19
Since August 2010, he was also a regularly featured science columnist for the
Huffington Post.[3][18]
Pantheon of skeptics
Stenger has been included in
CSI's Pantheon of Skeptics. The Pantheon of Skeptics was created by CSI to remember the legacy of deceased fellows of CSI and their contributions to the cause of
scientific skepticism.[19]
References
^
abStenger, Victor John.
"Curriculum Vitae"(PDF). University of Colorado. Retrieved 1 November 2014.