Chance and Necessity–—and Intelligent Design?

Modern physical theories excel at describing the evolution of physical systems through well-defined mathematical laws. However, these laws fundamentally presuppose initial conditions and a structure of observables that they do not themselves explain. In this paper, we argue that current science-while successful in predicting and manipulating nature-is inherently incapable of addressing the question of origins: the origin of the cosmos, life, or even fundamental quantities like mass, charge, and spin. Measurement in science is intrinsically comparative, not absolute, further highlighting a deep epistemological limitation. We critically analyze this structural limitation of scientific methodology and argue that without recognizing these boundaries, attempts to resolve origin-related mysteries remain philosophically and methodologically incomplete. We conclude by calling for a broader paradigm that includes metaphysical, phenomenological, or consciousness-based perspectives to complement scientific inquiry.

Foundations of Physics, 2006

Physics and chemistry underlie the nature of all the world around us, including human brains. Consequently some suggest that in causal terms, physics is all there is. However, we live in an environment dominated by objects embodying the outcomes of intentional design (buildings, computers, teaspoons). The present day subject of physics has nothing to say about the intentionality resulting in existence of such objects, even though this intentionality is clearly causally effective. This paper examines the claim that the underlying physics uniquely causally determines what happens, even though we cannot predict the outcome. It suggests that what occurs is the contextual emergence of complexity: the higher levels in the hierarchy of complexity have autonomous causal powers, functionally independent of lower level processes. This is possible because top-down causation takes place as well as bottom-up action, with higher level contexts determining the outcome of lower level functioning and even modifying the nature of lower level constituents. Stored information plays a key role, resulting in non-linear dynamics that is non-local in space and time. Brain functioning is causally affected by abstractions such as the value of money and the theory of the laser. These are realised as brain states in individuals, but are not equivalent to them. Consequently physics per se cannot causally determine the outcome of human creativity, rather it creates the possibility space allowing human intelligence to function autonomously. The challenge to physics is to develop a realistic description of causality in truly complex hierarchical structures, with top-down causation and memory effects allowing autonomous higher levels of order to emerge with genuine causal powers.

2001

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 2013

I argue against the common and influential view that non-trivial chances arise only when the fundamental laws are indeterministic. The problem with this view, I claim, is not that it conflicts with some antecedently plausible metaphysics of chance or that it fails to capture our everyday use of ‘chance’ and related terms, but rather that it is unstable. Any reason for adopting the position that non-trivial chances arise only when the fundamental laws are indeterministic is also a reason for adopting a much stronger, and far less attractive, position. I suggest an alternative account, according to which chances are probabilities that play a certain explanatory role: they are probabilities that explain associated frequencies.

DPG Frühjahrstagung, 2024

Information is discussed as base of physical knowledge. A dozen of nature constants can be combined to four. In addition the idea is presented that gravitation is related to the information of distances between masses.

British Journal for The Philosophy of Science, 1966

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Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics

No-conspiracy is the requirement that measurement settings should be probabilistically independent of the elements of reality responsible for the measurement outcomes. In this paper we investigate what role no-conspiracy generally plays in a physical theory; how it inuences the semantical role of the event types of the theory; and how it relates to such other concepts as separability, compatibility, causality, locality and contextuality.

There are numerous unanswered scientific doubts/phenomena in Nature which still perplex scientific researchers currently. To solve these puzzles, unveiling the ultimate structure of matters, which make up the Nature world, is essential. Here four hypotheses, namely the fundamental matter component (basic particle) and its property, construction process of the basic particles into other particles/matters, repulsion of particles of the same type, and direct relationship between matter and energy, are proposed. These simple hypotheses can well explain some natural phenomena, such as the existence of huge atom energy and various particles/matters of different properties, and conversion balance between matters and energy. Due to the existence of diverse infinite fine particles and repulsion of particles of the same types, matters and the Nature world are submerged in a sea of particles and there is not a real vacuum space (without any particle) in the Nature world. This in turn reveals Thermal Laws, the component of dark energy/matter, as well as a minimum temperature of ~3K that exists in the deep Universe. The suggested relationships between particles and/or matters also shed light on the mechanisms of interaction forces of same or different polarity particles, and intermedia of gravitational, electrical and magnetic fields.

Springer eBooks, 2016