Post by Zheng Zhao on May 5, 2015 15:53:25 GMT
Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
Understanding physics and the general rules of the universe is important in studying philosophy because it influences the way we observe and perceive all things around us. Einstein firmly believes that an objective world exists and the role of physics is to describe and understand the world with certainty. Therefore, Einstein strong opposes to the quantum mechanics theory advocated by Niels Bohr, which largely explains the micro level of things in terms of probability. The two parties, one represented by the general relativity to explain gravity at macro scale and the other represented by quantum mechanics to explain phenomena at micro scale, fail to find reconciliation between each other at that time. Such contradiction does not make sense to our philosophical understandings because we could not perceive things with two different laws. We need a theory that can connect them and that is able to explain everything.
Fortunately, “the theory of everything” that Einstein is searching for in his life seems to appear. The string theory, which contends that all things are made of tiny bits of string-like energy, if correct, is able to connect the quantum mechanics and the general relativity, though it is still not provable. However, if the string theory were right, our perceptions of the world and the universe would fundamentally change. For example, according to string theory, there are multi-universe and multi-dimensions, ranging from 6 to 26 dimensions. The way we usually see things in term of three dimensions or four if time is included would just be an oversimplified illusion. Therefore, understanding physics and figuring the truth could have dramatic impact on our philosophy and understands of the world.
What is eliminative materialism?
Eliminative materialism tries to explain our consciousness and philosophy at the science level. As presented in the film, people with the concept of eliminative materialism resort to different types of science such as math, biology, physics, or chemistry etc to explain fully the phenomenon in our lives. For example, as technology accelerates, we are not constantly replacing our outdated concepts with more accurate and newer understandings. The myth of Thor is replaced by electrical current; the diseases are traced to various bacterial; and the ghost changes to the nerve system. However, the rise of eliminative materialism poses great challenges to some fundamental beliefs that we used to take for granted. According to eliminative materialism, human psychological states such as anger or fear are just what we believe but in fact do not have a solid basis or might not even exist. Therefore, as eliminativists contend, the consciousness in religions could only make sense when it could be explained at a scientific or neural system based level.
Understanding physics and the general rules of the universe is important in studying philosophy because it influences the way we observe and perceive all things around us. Einstein firmly believes that an objective world exists and the role of physics is to describe and understand the world with certainty. Therefore, Einstein strong opposes to the quantum mechanics theory advocated by Niels Bohr, which largely explains the micro level of things in terms of probability. The two parties, one represented by the general relativity to explain gravity at macro scale and the other represented by quantum mechanics to explain phenomena at micro scale, fail to find reconciliation between each other at that time. Such contradiction does not make sense to our philosophical understandings because we could not perceive things with two different laws. We need a theory that can connect them and that is able to explain everything.
Fortunately, “the theory of everything” that Einstein is searching for in his life seems to appear. The string theory, which contends that all things are made of tiny bits of string-like energy, if correct, is able to connect the quantum mechanics and the general relativity, though it is still not provable. However, if the string theory were right, our perceptions of the world and the universe would fundamentally change. For example, according to string theory, there are multi-universe and multi-dimensions, ranging from 6 to 26 dimensions. The way we usually see things in term of three dimensions or four if time is included would just be an oversimplified illusion. Therefore, understanding physics and figuring the truth could have dramatic impact on our philosophy and understands of the world.
What is eliminative materialism?
Eliminative materialism tries to explain our consciousness and philosophy at the science level. As presented in the film, people with the concept of eliminative materialism resort to different types of science such as math, biology, physics, or chemistry etc to explain fully the phenomenon in our lives. For example, as technology accelerates, we are not constantly replacing our outdated concepts with more accurate and newer understandings. The myth of Thor is replaced by electrical current; the diseases are traced to various bacterial; and the ghost changes to the nerve system. However, the rise of eliminative materialism poses great challenges to some fundamental beliefs that we used to take for granted. According to eliminative materialism, human psychological states such as anger or fear are just what we believe but in fact do not have a solid basis or might not even exist. Therefore, as eliminativists contend, the consciousness in religions could only make sense when it could be explained at a scientific or neural system based level.