CONVERGING REALITIES. TOWARD A COMMON PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS

OMNES, R.

ISBN 10: 0691115303 / ISBN 13: 9780691115306

Published by PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2005

About this Item

OMNES, R.: CONVERGING REALITIES. TOWARD A COMMON PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS. LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ, 2005, xvii 264 p. figuras, 545 gr. Encuadernacion original. Nuevo. (GA-2-2) 545 gr.

Seller Inventory # 362892

Bibliographic Details

• Title: CONVERGING REALITIES. TOWARD A COMMON PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS
• Publisher: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691115303
• ISBN 13: 9780691115306
• Binding: Encuadernación de tapa blanda
• Condition: Nuevo
• Weight: 545 grams
• Book Type: Libro
• Seller catalogs:
  • Historia de la ciencia

About this title

Synopsis

The mysterious beauty, harmony, and consistency of mathematics once caused philosopher Hilary Putnam to term its existence a "miracle." Now, advances in the understanding of physics suggest that the foundations of mathematics are encompassed by the laws of nature, an idea that sheds new light on both mathematics and physics.

The philosophical relationship between mathematics and the natural sciences is the subject of Converging Realities, the latest work by one of the leading thinkers on the subject. Based on a simple but powerful idea, it shows that the axioms needed for the mathematics used in physics can also generate practically every field of contemporary pure mathematics. It also provides a foundation for current investigations in string theory and other areas of physics.

This approach to the nature of mathematics is not really new, but it became overshadowed by formalism near the end of nineteenth century. The debate turned eventually into an exclusive dialogue between mathematicians and philosophers, as if physics and nature did not exist. This unsatisfactory situation was enforced by the uncertain standing of physical reality in quantum mechanics.

The recent advances in the interpretation of quantum mechanics (as described in Quantum Philosophy, also by Omnès) have now reconciled the foundations of physics with objectivity and common sense. In Converging Realities, Roland Omnès is among the first scholars to consider the connection of natural laws with mathematics.

About the Author

Roland Omnès (1931–2022) was professor emeritus of theoretical physics at the Université de Paris-Sud. Having made a career in particle physics and astrophysics, he contributed significantly to the modern renewal in the foundations and interpretation of quantum mechanics.