Following a career as a research scientist in the field of particle physics, Stenger was associated with New Atheism and he also authored popular science books. He published twelve books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience, including the 2007 best-seller God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist. His final book was God and the Multiverse: Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos (September 9, 2014). He was also a regular featured science columnist for the Huffington Post.
He was an advocate for removing the influence of religion from scientific research, commercial activity, and the political decision process, and he coined the phrase "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings".
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. He died in August 2014 at the age of 79.
Education and employment
Stenger attended public schools in Bayonne, New Jersey before going on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Newark College of Engineering (now the New Jersey Institute of Technology). He then moved to Los Angeles on a Hughes Aircraft Company fellowship, where he earned a Master of Science from UCLA in 1958 and a Ph.D in 1963, both in physics.
He then moved to Hawai'i, where he was a member of the Department of Physics at the University of Hawaii until his 2000 retirement. He held visiting positions on the faculties of the University of Heidelberg in Germany, Oxford University (twice), and was a visiting researcher at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in England, the National Nuclear Physics Laboratory in Frascati, Italy, and the University of Florence in Italy. He was also an Emeritus Professor of physics at the University of Hawaii, and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado.
Scientist
Stenger's first peer-reviewed publication was 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. Stenger focused on neutrino astronomy and very high-energy gamma rays.
Philosopher and skeptic
Stenger was an advocate of philosophical naturalism, skepticism, and atheism. He was a prominent critic of intelligent design and the aggressive use of the anthropic principle. He maintained that if consciousness and free will do exist, they will eventually be explained in a scientific manner that invokes neither the mystical nor the supernatural. He repeatedly criticized those who invoke the perplexities of quantum mechanics in support of the paranormal, mysticism, or supernatural phenomena, and wrote several books and articles aiming to debunk contemporary pseudoscience.
Stenger was also a public speaker, including taking part in the 2008 "Origins Conference" hosted by the Skeptics Society at the California Institute of Technology alongside Nancey Murphy, Hugh Ross, Leonard Susskind, Kenneth R. Miller, Sean Carroll and Michael Shermer. Stenger debated several Christian apologists and scientists such as William Lane Craig, Hugh Ross, John Lennox and David J. Bartholomew on topics such as the existence of God and the relationship between science and religion.
In 1992, Uri Geller sued Stenger and Prometheus Books for $4 million, claiming defamation for questioning his "psychic powers." The suit was dismissed and Geller was ordered to pay court costs.
In a 2012 paper in PASA, astronomer Luke Barnes argued that many of Stenger's claims about fine-tuning were highly problematic, and that Stenger's arguments were examples of various fallacies such as "the Cheap Binoculars Fallacy" (don’t waste money buying expensive binoculars; simply stand closer to the object you wish to view). Stenger responded, disputing Barnes' objections and reiterating: "The universe is not fine-tuned for us. We are fine-tuned to the universe" and "...no prominent physicist or cosmologist has disputed my basic conclusions. Barnes does not invalidate these conclusions and misunderstands and misrepresents much of what is in the book."
Professional and community positions
President, 1990–94 Hawaiian Humanists
Member of Editorial Board, Free Inquiry
Member of Society of Humanist Philosophers
Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
Fellow of the Center for Inquiry
President, 2002–06, Colorado Citizens for Science
Books for general audiences
In recent years, Stenger's books and articles were mostly written for the wider educated public. These writings explore the interfaces between physics and cosmology, and philosophy, religion, and pseudoscience. The following books were all published by Prometheus Books.
Not by Design: The Origin of the Universe, Prometheus Books, 1988, p. 202, ISBN 978-0-87975-451-8
Physics and Psychics: The Search for a World Beyond the Senses, Prometheus Books, 1990, p. 323, ISBN 978-0-87975-575-1
The Unconscious Quantum: Metaphysics in Modern Physics and Cosmology, Prometheus Books, 1995, p. 322, ISBN 978-1-57392-022-3
Timeless Reality: Symmetry, Simplicity, and Multiple Universes, Prometheus Books, 2000, p. 396, ISBN 978-1-57392-859-5
Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe, Prometheus Books, 2003, p. 373, ISBN 978-1-59102-018-9
The Comprehensible Cosmos: Where Do the Laws of Physics Come From?, Prometheus Books, 2006, p. 340, ISBN 978-1-59102-424-8
God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist, Prometheus Books, 2007, p. 287, ISBN 978-1-59102-481-1
Quantum Gods: Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness, Prometheus Books, 2009, p. 292, ISBN 978-1-59102-713-3
The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason, Prometheus Books, 2009, p. 282, ISBN 978-1-59102-751-5
The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us, Prometheus Books, 2011, p. 345, ISBN 978-1-61614-443-2
God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion, Prometheus Books, 2012, p. 408, ISBN 978-1-61614-599-6
God and the Atom, Prometheus Books, 2013, p. 300, ISBN 978-1-61614-753-2
God and the Multiverse, Prometheus Books, 2014, p. 447, ISBN 978-1-61614-970-3
Peer-reviewed articles
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, 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 (3 October 1985), "Photinos from Cosmic Sources", Nature, 317: 411–413, doi:10.1038/317411a0
Stenger, Victor (March–April 1986), "The Extraterrestrial Flux Sensitivity of Underground and Undersea Muon Detectors", Il Nuovo Cimento C, 9 (2): 479–487, doi:10.1007/BF02514866
Stenger, Victor (July 1990), "The Universe: the ultimate free lunch", European Journal of Physics, 11 (4): 236–243, doi:10.1088/0143-0807/11/4/008
Stenger, Victor (1999), "Bioenergetic Fields", The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 3 (1)
Stenger, Victor (2000), "Natural Explanations for the Anthropic Coincidences" (PDF), Philo, 3 (2): 50–67, doi:10.5840/philo20003216
Other essays
Stenger, Victor (May–June 1993), "The Myth of Quantum Consciousness" (PDF), The Humanist, vol. 53, pp. 13–15
Stenger, Victor (1996), "New Age Physics: Has Science Found the Path to the Ultimate?" (PDF), Free Inquiry, vol. 16 no. 3, pp. 7–11
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, 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
Stenger, Victor (1999), "The Anthropic Coincidences: A Natural Explanation", Skeptical Intelligencer, vol. 3 no. 3, pp. 2–17
Stenger, Victor (July–August 1999), "Anthropic Design: Does the Cosmos Show Evidence of Purpose?", Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 23 no. 4, pp. 40–63
Ramey, David; Stenger, Victor (1999), "Energy Medicine", Consumer's Guide to Alternative Therapies in the Horse, Howell Book House, pp. 55–66, ISBN 978-1582450629
Stenger, Victor (2000), "The Pseudophysics of Therapeutic Touch", in Scheiber, Béla; Selby, Carla, Therapeutic Touch, Prometheus Books, pp. 302–311, ISBN 978-1-57392-804-5
Stenger, Victor (2000), Intelligent Design: The New Stealth Creationism(PDF)
Stenger, Victor (2001), "Humanity in Time and Space", Free Inquiry, vol. 21 no. 2, pp. 42–69
Stenger, Victor (2001), "Time's Arrows Point Both Ways: The View From Nowhen" (PDF), Skeptic, vol. 8 no. 4, pp. 90–95
Stenger, Victor (September–October 2001), "The God of Falling Bodies", Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 25 no. 5, pp. 46–49
Stenger, Victor (2001), "The Breath of God: Identifying Spiritual Force", in Kurtz, Paul, Skeptical Odysseys, Prometheus Books, pp. 363–374, ISBN 978-1-57392-884-7
Stenger, Victor (2003), "Anthropic Design: Does the Cosmos Show Evidence of Purpose?", in Kurtz, Paul, Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?, Prometheus Books, pp. 47–49, ISBN 978-1-59102-064-6
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, Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism, Rutgers University Press, pp. 172–184, ISBN 978-0813538723
Stenger, Victor (2005), "Flew's Flawed Science", Free Inquiry, vol. 25 no. 2, pp. 17–18
Stenger, Victor (2006), "The Scientific Case Against a God Who Created the Universe", in Martin, Michael; Monnier, Ricki, The Improbability of God, Prometheus Books, ISBN 978-1-59102-381-4
Stenger, Victor (2006), "Do Our Values Come from God? The Evidence Says No" (PDF), Free Inquiry, vol. 26 no. 5, pp. 42–45
Stenger, Victor (2007), "Clock Time", in Darity, William, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference USA, ISBN 978-0028661179
Stenger, Victor (2007), "Reality", in Darity, William, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Reference USA, ISBN 978-0028661179
Stenger, Victor (2008), "Physics, Cosmology, and the New Creationism", in Petto, Andrew; Godfrey, Laurie, Scientists Confront Creationism: Intelligent Design and Beyond, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., ISBN 978-0-393-33073-1
Stenger, Victor (March 2008), "Is the Brain a Quantum Device?", Skeptical Briefs, vol. 18 no. 1, pp. 9, 13
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, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Asymmetry of", in Birx, H. James, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Operational Definition of", in Birx, H. James, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Universe, Origin of", in Birx, H. James, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Planck time", in Birx, H. James, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Symmetry of", in Birx, H. James, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2009), "Time, Units of", in Birx, H. James, Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN 978-1412941648
Stenger, Victor (2012), "Free Will and Autonomous Will", Skeptic, vol. 17 no. 4, pp. 15–19
Columnist
From 1998 to 2011 Stenger wrote for the column "Reality Check," in Skeptical Briefs, the quarterly newsletter of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI).
Since August, 2010 he was also a regular featured science columnist for the Huffington Post.
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.
