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Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story'

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the cosmologist shares his thoughts on death, M-theory, human purpose and our chance existence

A belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a "fairy story" for people afraid of death, Stephen Hawking has said.

In a dismissal that underlines his firm rejection of religious comforts, Britain's most eminent scientist said there was nothing beyond the moment when the brain flickers for the final time.

Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21, shares his thoughts on death, human purpose and our chance existence in an exclusive interview with the Guardian today.

The incurable illness was expected to kill Hawking within a few years of its symptoms arising, an outlook that turned the young scientist to Wagner, but ultimately led him to enjoy life more, he has said, despite the cloud hanging over his future.

"I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first," he said.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," he added.

Hawking's latest comments go beyond those laid out in his 2010 book, The Grand Design, in which he asserted that there is no need for a creator to explain the existence of the universe. The book provoked a backlash from some religious leaders, including the chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, who accused Hawking of committing an "elementary fallacy" of logic.

The 69-year-old physicist fell seriously ill after a lecture tour in the US in 2009 and was taken to Addenbrookes hospital in an episode that sparked grave concerns for his health. He has since returned to his Cambridge department as director of research.

The physicist's remarks draw a stark line between the use of God as a metaphor and the belief in an omniscient creator whose hands guide the workings of the cosmos.

In his bestselling 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking drew on the device so beloved of Einstein, when he described what it would mean for scientists to develop a "theory of everything" – a set of equations that described every particle and force in the entire universe. "It would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God," he wrote.

The book sold a reported 9 million copies and propelled the physicist to instant stardom. His fame has led to guest roles in The Simpsons, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Red Dwarf. One of his greatest achievements in physics is a theory that describes how black holes emit radiation.

In the interview, Hawking rejected the notion of life beyond death and emphasised the need to fulfil our potential on Earth by making good use of our lives. In answer to a question on how we should live, he said, simply: "We should seek the greatest value of our action."

In answering another, he wrote of the beauty of science, such as the exquisite double helix of DNA in biology, or the fundamental equations of physics.

Hawking responded to questions posed by the Guardian and a reader in advance of a lecture tomorrow at the Google Zeitgeist meeting in London, in which he will address the question: "Why are we here?"

In the talk, he will argue that tiny quantum fluctuations in the very early universe became the seeds from which galaxies, stars, and ultimately human life emerged. "Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in," he said.

Hawking suggests that with modern space-based instruments, such as the European Space Agency's Planck mission, it may be possible to spot ancient fingerprints in the light left over from the earliest moments of the universe and work out how our own place in space came to be.

His talk will focus on M-theory, a broad mathematical framework that encompasses string theory, which is regarded by many physicists as the best hope yet of developing a theory of everything.

M-theory demands a universe with 11 dimensions, including a dimension of time and the three familiar spatial dimensions. The rest are curled up too small for us to see.

Evidence in support of M-theory might also come from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva.

One possibility predicted by M-theory is supersymmetry, an idea that says fundamental particles have heavy – and as yet undiscovered – twins, with curious names such as selectrons and squarks.

Confirmation of supersymmetry would be a shot in the arm for M-theory and help physicists explain how each force at work in the universe arose from one super-force at the dawn of time.

Another potential discovery at the LHC, that of the elusive Higgs boson, which is thought to give mass to elementary particles, might be less welcome to Hawking, who has a long-standing bet that the long-sought entity will never be found at the laboratory.

Hawking will join other speakers at the London event, including the chancellor, George Osborne, and the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
Science, truth and beauty: Hawking's answers

What is the value in knowing "Why are we here?"

The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can't solve the equations, directly in the abstract. We need to use the effective theory of Darwinian natural selection of those societies most likely to survive. We assign them higher value.

You've said there is no reason to invoke God to light the blue touchpaper. Is our existence all down to luck?

Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in.

So here we are. What should we do?

We should seek the greatest value of our action.

You had a health scare and spent time in hospital in 2009. What, if anything, do you fear about death?

I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.

What are the things you find most beautiful in science?

Science is beautiful when it makes simple explanations of phenomena or connections between different observations. Examples include the double helix in biology, and the fundamental equations of physics."

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Brilliant man, but it seems like a waste of time for someone like him to take shots at religion. I understand religious leaders taking shots at him. They have everything to loose, but his work is able to stand on its own.

Of course sometimes science scares me. Religion has never come close to destroying life on this planet. The same cannot be said about science.

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Eh Hawking...

Classic case of someone who has a tremendous amount of book sense, but little common sense.  Sad really.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Eh Hawking...

Classic case of someone who has a tremendous about of book sense, but little common sense.  Sad really.

How is he lacking in common sense?

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Originally Posted by Mark Simmons:
Brilliant man, but it seems like a waste of time for someone like him to take shots at religion. I understand religious leaders taking shots at him. They have everything to loose, but his work is able to stand on its own.

Of course sometimes science scares me. Religion has never come close to destroying life on this planet. The same cannot be said about science.

I'm not sure what his motivation is.  Perhaps he needed a hobby.

Both science and religion have the ability to do good and evil in the world.  With science we have on one end nuclear bombs capable of destroying entire cities while on the other we have life saving medicines and vaccinations that have almost wiped out diseases like small pocks.  Science is, in the end, just a means of exploring how the universe works and as such is neutral.  It then becomes a matter of what engineers do with it.  With religion you have a lot of charities on one side, and then persecution on the other (Inquisition, witch hunts, crusades and jihad, systematic discrimination against others who don't partake in the same fairy tale).

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Originally Posted by Bryant Platt:

Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Eh Hawking...

Classic case of someone who has a tremendous about of book sense, but little common sense.  Sad really.

How is he lacking in common sense?

By believing  'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story' .  And I realize some of you in here agree with Hawking on this.  But Hawking has a bit of a grudge to grind.  his story is one of a human being stricken with a disease that paralyzed him in college.  When he was young, he enjoyed riding horses and playing with other children. At Oxford, he coxed a rowing team.  So this disease has to have made him wonder 'Why me God?".

Hawking is a brilliant man, but he doesnt know everything.  Hawking was in the news in July 2004 for presenting a new theory about black holes which goes against his own long-held belief about their behaviour, thus losing a bet he made with Kip Thorne and John Preskill of Caltech.

Hawking is excellent in mathematics and Science, but in college he had poor study habits.  Chances are he never bothered much with studying Christianity, and therefore, knows next to nothing about it.  So for him to make the claim 'there is no Heaven or God or whatever, implies an ignorance of a man who has focused solely on science and math.

But the odd thing is that scientitst and doctors claimed he would have been dead only a few years after he contracted his disease.  That he has survived for some 48 years is nothing short of a miracle!  Sadly, Hawking cant see that.

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I thought this was amusing.  

Kirk Cameron says Stephen Hawking is WRONG about the non-existence of Heaven -- insisting Hawking is just as ignorant as ... (wait for it) ... John Lennon.

Kirk -- who is HUGELY active in his evangelist church -- tells TMZ Hawking has no scientific evidence to back his claim that Heaven is merely a, "Fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

Cameron tells us, "Professor Hawking is heralded as 'the genius of Britain,' yet he believes in the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything and that life sprang from non-life."

He adds, "Why should anyone believe Mr. Hawking's writings if he cannot provide evidence for his unscientific belief that out of nothing, everything came?"

So how does John Lennon fit in to all this? Cameron explains:

"[Hawking] says he knows there is no Heaven. John Lennon wasn't sure. He said to pretend there's no Heaven. That's easy if you try.  Then he said he hoped that someday we would join him."

"Such wishful thinking reveals John and Stephen's religious beliefs, not good science."

So there you have it ... Stephen Hawking and a Beatle connected through Mike Seaver.

BOOM!

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To my understanding we are getting very close to creating "synthetic life," and there are several interesting hypotheses for how it could have initialed.  I would agree that Dr. Hawking's arguments that a) there is no heaven and b) everything came from nothing are not very scientific as presented.  

While there is no evidence for a "heaven" as its a metaphysical claim its not examinable by science (which concerns its self only with the physical).  While it might be reasonable to claim that one doubts the existence of such a place due to lack of evidence for it, the outright declaration of its non-existence due to lack of evidence is fallacious.  

The argument that everything came from nothing violates the basic principles of physics of conservation of mass and conservation of energy.  I've not read his formal defense of this idea, however I couldn't imagine how one could defend such an assertion.

That was an interesting connection, but I think Mr. Cameron missed Mr. Lennon's point.

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Originally Posted by Bryant Platt:

While there is no evidence for a "heaven" as its a metaphysical claim its not examinable by science (which concerns its self only with the physical).  While it might be reasonable to claim that one doubts the existence of such a place due to lack of evidence for it, the outright declaration of its non-existence due to lack of evidence is fallacious.  

Yep.  Hawking isnt saying he just doesnt believe in Heaven'.  He's making an outright declaration that is doesnt exist...with no evidence to support him.  Now if he just doesnt believe...thats one thing.  But it doesnt mean he's right.  

Originally Posted by Bryant Platt:
The argument that everything came from nothing violates the basic principles of physics of conservation of mass and conservation of energy.

Couldnt agree more!

I personally believe in a creator.  

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I don't believe in Heaven or god and think the old testament is a load of gumph. There is mush that is positive in the new testament and it has in general a very moral compass. It's my belief. I can't prove there isn't a god just like I can't prove there is one.

I don't have a problem with fairy stories, as long as they are not manipulated into condoning actions that they are not meant to condone.

Hawking is right is saying we should seek the greatest value in our action, I don't think anyone could disagree with that.

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he's just being a typical scientist, really, believing only in what can be studied and formulated at the time. but to tell the truth, he is no more qualified to speak on this subject than you or i. i personally don't really buy the common perception of "heaven" in a judeo-christian sense, but to my reckoning, there is more to existence than the physical plain we currently inhabit. i mean just look at dark matter, anti-matter, and dark energy. it's something we know exists, yet we can't see it or interact with because we're made out of regular matter, and can only interact with regular energy. i believe that there is something more to human beings than their meat bodies and whatever electric/chemical signals occupy our brains. there is an energy, an essence, a soul. and i believe that upon our death, (if we "cross over" and leave this realm behind) that we cease to be ourselves, and are kind of absorbed into a greater collective understanding. there are so many unknown forces and "dimensions," if you will, that make up the whole of everything that is. we know for a fact that we can only experience what occupies our limited physical realm, but we also know that there are things in existence that fall outside of this realm.