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Physics, philosophy, and the nature of reality
Author(s) -
Maudlin Tim
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.12877
Subject(s) - epistemology , formalism (music) , sort , einstein , argument (complex analysis) , philosophy , philosophy of science , theoretical physics , relevance (law) , schrödinger's cat , modern physics , point (geometry) , physics , quantum mechanics , mathematics , medicine , law , art , musical , geometry , arithmetic , political science , visual arts
Both science and philosophy have been characterized as seeking to understand the nature of reality. They are sometimes even pitted against each other, suggesting that the success of science undermines the relevance of philosophy. But attending to the sort of understanding or explanation being sought offers a different picture: contemporary physics as practiced sometimes fails to provide a clear physical account of the world. This lies at the root of the dissatisfaction with standard quantum theory expressed by Einstein, Schrödinger, and John Bell. As an example, close consideration of Schrödinger's famous cat example suggests that physicists often have missed his point. What a philosophical disposition can contribute is not alternative physics, but rather the sort of careful attention to argument needed to extract a physical picture from a mathematical formalism.