Open AccessHeisenberg on Science, Language, and the Question of Objectivity
Author(s) -
Makoto Katsumori
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
energeia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1869-4233
DOI - 10.55245/energeia.2010.001
Subject(s) - objectivity (philosophy) , epistemology , complementarity (molecular biology) , reinterpretation , bohr model , natural science , human science , constructivism (international relations) , sociology , philosophy , theoretical physics , quantum mechanics , physics , political science , genetics , international relations , politics , law , biology , aesthetics
Far from regarding physical science as a universal model of human knowledge, Werner Heisenberg relativized the scientificity of natural science, situating this domain of knowledge in a wide range of our modes of experiencing the world. In this paper, with a focus on his critical analysis of the notion of objectivity in quantum theory and other fields, I survey Heisenberg’s view of the world as divided into six distinct areas of reality, including – but not centered on – physical science. I also seek to show how this conception of the structure of reality, specifically of the relation between different areas of reality, is mediated by his mis- or reinterpretation of Bohr’s idea of complementarity.