John polkinghorne

John Polkinghorne Timeline (October 16, 1930 - *****)

By RobertRichards

  • Early Life

    Early Life
    His early life was mostly calm, being born in Weston-Super-Mare October 16, 1930 with 2 older siblings, one of which later died in WWII. Polkinghornes early life held little influence on what his future would end up being, with the exception possibly of his family’s religious lean. Turner, Darrell J. “John Polkinghorne.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 12 Oct. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Polkinghorne.
  • Period: to

    Polkinghornes Education

    Polkinghornes Education was fairly straightforward, starting in primary school before being taught at home for a time, which later culminated in being transferred to The Perse School when his father became the postmaster for the area. He then had a year in the Royal Army Corps before finally studying Mathematics and earning is PhD in physics as well as a doctorate in quantum field theory from Trinity College by the year 1956.

  • Degree

    Degree
    Earned Masters in mathematics
  • Period: to

    Polkinghornes Career

    Polkinghornes career is really what stands out aside from his official work, as he started as a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and then later at Cambridge before becoming a physics professor in 1968. What makes it interesting is that in the late 1970s he shifted back toward his religious roots, claming his work in science and mathematics was done, choosing to train and become a priest for a time before eventually returning to education and becoming the president of Queens College.

  • Doctorate

    Doctorate
    Earned his Doctorate in Quantum Field Theory

  • Shift to Priesthood

    Shift to Priesthood
    left his position at the college and started pursuing priesthood
  • Period: to

    Polkinghornes Works

    All of Polkinghornes works revolved around the idea that science and religion are not stand alone things in science, but that they both work together, this being known as Critical realism. Polkinghorne believed that the combined view of science and religion holds more "truth" than the idea of pure scientific truth, and further debated such in works he published such as "Faith, Science, and Understanding" as well as a few other books. [Video]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHrJzCNG-eI

  • Published Faith, Science, and Understanding

    Published Faith, Science, and Understanding
    This was the year that Faith, Science, and Understanding was published