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Michał Kazimierz Heller (born 12 March 1936) is a Polish
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...
, cosmologist,
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
, and Catholic priest. He is a professor of philosophy at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Poland, and an adjunct member of the Vatican Observatory staff. He also serves as a lecturer in the
philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
and
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
at the Theological Institute in
Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...
. A Catholic priest belonging to the Diocese of Tarnów, Heller was ordained in 1959. In 2008, he received the
Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest ques ...
for his works in the field of philosophy.


Career

Michał Heller attended
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in Mościce, graduated from the Catholic University of Lublin, where he earned a master's degree in philosophy in 1965 and a Ph.D. in
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
in 1966. After beginning his teaching career at
Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...
, he joined the faculty of the Pontifical Academy of Theology in 1972 and was appointed to a full professorship in 1985. He has been a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Louvain in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and a visiting scientist at Belgium's University of Liège, the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, the
University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...
, Ruhr University in Germany, The Catholic University of America, and the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
among others. His research is concerned with the singularity problem in
general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
and the use of noncommutative geometry in seeking the unification of
general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
and
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
into
quantum gravity Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics. It deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the v ...
.


Awards


Templeton Prize

In March 2008, Heller was awarded the $1.6 million (£820,000)
Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest ques ...
for his extensive philosophical and scientific probing of "big questions". His works have sought to reconcile the "known scientific world with the unknowable dimensions of God".Million-Dollar Prize Given to Cosmologist Priest
/ref> On receiving the Templeton Prize, Heller said: Heller used the prize money to establish the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies – an institute named after Nicholas Copernicus aimed at research and popularisation of science and philosophy. He also serves as director of the annual Copernicus Festival held in Kraków.


Other distinctions

Honorary degrees from: * AGH University of Science and Technology (1996) * Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (2009) * University of Life Sciences in Poznań (2010) * Warsaw University of Technology (2012) *
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...
(2012) * University of Life Sciences in Lublin (2014) * University of Silesia in Katowice (2015) * Pontifical University of John Paul II (2016) * Rzeszów University of Technology (2018) Other distinctions: * Cross of Merit (Poland) (2006) *
Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...
(2009) * Order of the White Eagle (Poland) (2014)


Memberships

* Polish Academy of Learning * Pontifical Academy of Sciences * European Physical Society *
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
* International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation * International Society for the Study of Time * International Society for Science and Religion


Further reading

Michael Heller has published nearly 200 scientific papers, not only in
general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
and relativistic
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
, but also in
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...
and
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
. He authored more than 50 books. In his volume, ''Is Physics an Art?'' (Biblos, 1998), he writes about
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
as the language of science and also explores such
humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
issues as
beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasure, pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fie ...
as a criterion of
truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
,
creativity Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
, and transcendence.


Books – Physics and Cosmology

*''The Science of Space-Time'', with Derek Jeffrey Raine, Pachart Publishing House, Tucson 1981, *''Encountering the Universe'', Pachart Publishing House, Tucson 1982, *''Questions to the Universe – Ten Lectures on the Foundations of Physics and Cosmology'', Pachart Publishing House, Tucson 1986, *''Theoretical Foundations of Cosmology – Introduction to the Global Structure of Space-Time'',
World Scientific World Scientific Publishing is an academic publisher of scientific, technical, and medical books and journals headquartered in Singapore. The company was founded in 1981. It publishes about 600 books annually, with more than 170 journals in var ...
, Singapore–London 1992, *''Lemaître, Big Bang and the Quantum Universe'', Pachart, Tucson 1996, *''Some Mathematical Physics for Philosophers'', Pontifical Council for Culture,
Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...
, Vatican City–Rome 2005, *''Ultimate explanations of the universe'', transl. by Teresa Bałuk-Ulewiczowa, Springer, 2009,


Books – Philosophy and Theology

*''The World and the Word – Between Science and Religion'', Pachart Publishing House, Tucson 1986, *''The New Physics and a New Theology'', transl. by G. V. Coyne, T.M. Sierotowicz, Vatican Observatory Publications 1996, *''Creative Tension. Essays on Science & Religion'', Templeton Foundation Press, Philadelphia–London 2003, *''A Comprehensible Universe. The Interplay of Science and Theology'', with George Coyne, Springer, New York 2008, , *''The Sense of Life and the Sense of the Universe'', Copernicus Center Press, Cracow 2010, *''Philosophy in Science: An Historical Introduction'', Springer, 2011, *''Philosophy of Chance. A cosmic fugue with a prelude and a coda'', Copernicus Center Press, Cracow 2012,


Articles

*''The Origins of Time'', in: ''The Study of Time IV'', ed. by J.T. Fraser, N. Lawrence, D. Park, Springer Verlag, New York–Heidelberg–Berlin 1981, pp. 90–93, *''Algebraic Self-Duality as the "Ultimate Explanation"'', ''
Foundations of Science Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...
'', 9, 2004, pp. 369–385


See also

*
List of Christian thinkers in science This is a list of Christians in science and technology. People in this list should have their Christianity as relevant to their notable activities or public life, and who have publicly identified themselves as Christians or as of a Christian deno ...
* List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics * Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest and cosmologist


References


External links


Michał Heller's homepage

An article by Stanislaw Wszołek about Heller's life and philosophy

THE FAR-FUTURE UNIVERSE
Eschatology From A Cosmic Perspective" : Heller was a participant in this conference held November 7–9, 2000 in Rome, Italy


Biography at Britannica Online
*

* ttps://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13454-qa-2008-templeton-prize-winner.html New Scientist interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Michael 1936 births People from Tarnów Polish cosmologists Polish relativity theorists Quantum gravity physicists Historians of physics Polish male writers Polish Roman Catholic theologians Polish Roman Catholic priests Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Catholic University of America faculty University of Arizona faculty Catholic clergy scientists Academics of the University of Leicester Living people Catholic philosophers Philosophers of physics Templeton Prize laureates Theistic evolutionists 21st-century Polish philosophers 20th-century Polish philosophers