The Relationship between Physics and PhilosophyBy Kartik Chundru, Laura Byrne, Mark Allen and Tom Ambrose

Supervisor: Prof. Stefan Hutzler

© School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin

The Differences between Physics and Philosophy

PhilosophyShare many different schools of thought such as Realism, Idealism and Rationalism. The school of thought a philosopher believes in is entirely up to their own opinionDon’t have the same unity as physicists. They don’t have a set of theories that all philosophers agree upon also Philosophy is divided into several different branches such as: logic, metaphysics and epistemology.Some of the different branches are concerned with topics that have a very large scope like the issue of what is knowledge. (Epistemology)Tend to give more emphasis to a single author’s view rather than to a topic as a wholeTo educate philosophers they study the (old) writings of other philosophers, some of which date back to even before Aristotle’s time more than 2000 years ago

PhysicsShare the same school of thought throughout the subject, for example all Physicists believe in the existence of a material world and of things such as matter.It is only for the new and cutting-edge theories that different opinions exist in physics.Have a sense of unity flowing through their subject, for example there is a set of SI units that are used regardless of what topic of Physics is being studied. Also they agree on a on a set of theories and these theories are used countless times across all areas of physicsThis unity and universal agreement within Physics has enabled the subject to use textbooks to educate PhysicistsStudy modern and up to date theories and literature and try to build upon it to try and create even newer theories

Natural Philosophy• The word Physics only came into use around the 19th century. Before this, what we know as Science today was called Natural Philosophy, the attempt to understand and explain the workings of the natural world in a contemplative way.

• The mathematical and experiment based science of modern times set in around the 17th and 18th centuries, in what is now called the scientific revolution. Newton’s main scientific work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, is an example of this revolution in Natural Philosophy.

• Remnants of the term Natural Philosophy still remain in physics today. For example, one of the oldest scientific journals still published is called Philosophical Magazine. Also there exists a chair in the School of Physics in Trinity called, the Erasmus Smith's Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, currently held by professor Coey.

IntroductionLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec a nisl nisi, aliquam feugiat sapien. Cras iaculis odio sit amet diam facilisis eget dignissim erat luctus. Phasellus malesuada consectetur euismod. Duis tempus, dolor tempus gravida ultricies, purus felis placerat ipsum, ac sagittis metus mi at velit. Aenean lectus tellus, varius id vehicula nec, volutpat nec odio. Sed in nibh eget nisl aliquet commodo. Praesent risus urna, gravida at commodo et, iaculis at libero. Quisque sollicitudin velit vitae ligula porta sit amet porttitor leo fermentum. Aenean ut nisl at tortor tempor elementum. Quisque euismod tortor a nulla blandit placerat. Aliquam lacus.

ExperimentationLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec a nisl nisi, aliquam feugiat sapien. Cras iaculis odio sit amet diam facilisis eget dignissim erat luctus. Phasellus malesuada consectetur euismod. Duis tempus, dolor tempus gravida ultricies, purus felis placerat ipsum, ac sagittis metus mi at velit. Aenean lectus tellus, varius id vehicula nec, volutpat nec odio. Sed in nibh eget nisl aliquet commodo. Praesent risus urna, gravida at commodo et, iaculis at libero. Quisque sollicitudin velit vitae ligula porta sit amet porttitor leo fermentum. Aenean ut nisl at tortor tempor elementum. Quisque euismod tortor a nulla blandit placerat. Aliquam lacus. . Sed in nibh eget nisl aliquet commodo. Praesent risus urna, gravida at commodo et, iaculis at libero. Quisque sollicitudin velit vitae ligula porta sit amet porttitor leo fermentum. Aenean ut nisl at tortor tempor elementum. Quisque euismod tortor a nulla blandit placerat. Aliquam lacus.

References: History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand RussellPlaceholder TextPlaceholder TextPlaceholder Text

Common topics of studyMatter, Space, and TimeWhat the world is made of

is a question that has engaged philosophers too, from the pre-Socratics to

the early modern.The philosopher Thales was

one of the first to try describing the world without resorting to

supernatural arguments.Atomic theory has its roots in Greek philosophy, indeed the word atom comes from the Greek for ‘indivisible’.Philosophers talk of what ‘substances’ the world is

made of.Einstein’s theories of

relativity show us that time and space are not

independent quantities, and quantum mechanics

(QM) tells us that words like wave, particle, position and velocity are meaningless at

a certain scale.

Objective RealityThe idea of an objective

reality, as is what is knowable, is an important topic for both physics and

philosophy.Descartes set a foundation for knowledge with his “I think therefore I am” and

worked from there.The Many Worlds

interpretation of QM states that we are in just one

world of many, corresponding to all

possible outcomes. Is this just a mathematical

formalism, or does it have deep philosophical

implications?While different schools

have different opinions on what we can know, QM states qualitatively and quantitatively what we

cannot know and by how much.

Determinism and Free Will

As physical entities, people are systems of particles, so

how much of our actions are governed by the laws of

physics?The concept of free will is

central to much of philosophy. Are we free to

make our own decisions, or are we simply automata? Many philosophers ascribe special importance to our

supposed determinism behaviour, while others

believe in free will. Others claim the two are

compatible.The problem is muddied

with the Copenhagen interpretation of QM, that states some processes are

inherently random.Some physicists, such as

Wigner and Penrose ascribe special importance to the role of consciousness in

QM, and vice versa.

Conclusion: Is a conclusion necessary??