THE LANGUAGE AND LOGIC OF PHYSICS, METAPHYSICS AND MYSTICISM Condensed Version (The Philosophy of Science Related to Modern Physics) - Softcover

Reinhardt, Dr. Douglas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1730937683 ISBN 13: 9781730937682

Publisher: Independently published, 2018

Synopsis

This book is about the philosophy of science, particularly epistemological issues relating to modern physics. It is written from the point of view of a philosopher of science who pays close attention to language and how it influences our logic and ways of thinking. The thesis of the book is that faulty use of language has led to some untenable theories in physics, and this may be the reason that it is difficult to find empirical support for such theories as String Theory or Quantum Loop Gravity. Several physicists have recognized that the trend toward metaphysics and away from empiricism has reached its zenith in String Theory and is symptomatic of a larger problem in Modern Physics. The word “logic” is derived from the Greek word, “logos” (which means “word”) so language is the vehicle of logic. The two major terms that are misused in the opinion of the author are “space” and “time”. Space and time are metaphysical concepts and when treated as physical entities, fantastic concepts emerge, such as “wormholes” where space can be folded up like a sheet of paper to enable space travelers to theoretically burrow a hole through the fold to take a shortcut to distant places and times within the universe. The guiding precept in the book is that qualitative language must precede quantitative language in building a theory. Sometimes physicists miss the conceptual forest for all the mathematical trees. In a word, they are blinded by the math. If the conceptual premises based upon certain assumptions are wrong, no amount of math can fix the theory. Ptolemy’s geocentric theory based upon epicycles in the orbits of the planets is an example of a theory that yielded accurate mathematical predictions but was wrong because of systematic error. It is the view of this author that some modern physics theories partake of the same kind of epicycle-type fixes as Ptolemy’s geocentrism. Thus, this book is written from the perspective of a fairly-well informed consumer of popular physics, a reviewer of popular physics literature and some professional literature on the subject, an anthropologist with an interest in linguistics, and most of all, a philosopher of science who is an adherent to the scientific method. Reification and mathematical abstraction have largely taken the “physical” out of physics. I would like to see a return to physical mechanisms to replace metaphysical abstractions such as “spacetime.”

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1730937683
• ISBN 13: 9781730937682
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 44