Questions tagged [physics]
Physics is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.
281 questions
-1
votes
3
answers
254
views
Does special relativity imply Eternalism or Block Universe?
I'm getting mixed results on this one, some say no and that's just an interpretation of relativity and some say yes.
There's this facebook post but I don't know how reliable this is: https://www....
- 1,336
0
votes
6
answers
571
views
Is there anything incoherent or unimaginable about action at a distance?
I have asked a question in the past about philosophical arguments for and against this concept but I wanted to focus in on whether there might be an incoherence in the concept (or not) by highlighting ...
- 11.4k
0
votes
1
answer
137
views
the triple nature of the photon? [closed]
wouldn't it be fair to consider a photon as a set of information?
As as a particle, wave, duality, there should be a triplet as a particle, wave, information set.
how would this change the behavior ...
- 125
1
vote
10
answers
310
views
When physics studies what fundamentally exists, why does it refuse to say what exists?
Physics studies elementary particles, quantum fields, and spacetime - the fundamental constituents of reality. This is exactly where physics meets ontology. We're no longer describing macroscopic ...
- 425
5
votes
1
answer
169
views
Schopenhauer's disparagement of Newton's color theory
Schopenhauer, in The World as Will and Representation I.15, writes [italics in original, bolding is mine]:
In my opinion ... every error is an inference from consequent to ground. ... [T]he
following ...
- 267
6
votes
1
answer
342
views
How does the invention of quantum logic affect interpreting quantum theory, if at all?
Quantum physics has challenged both physicists and philosophers since its debut more than 100 years ago. Inherent in some of the experimental results are what might be seen as paradoxes, such as the ...
- 906
4
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Why must our universe being dominated by Boltzmann Brains necessarily mean we must be them?
Assuming things happen exactly as the current LCDM seems to predict - the universe becomes asymptotically de-Sitter forever and fosters an environment where infinitely many Boltzmann Brains could ...
- 169
-4
votes
3
answers
145
views
What holds bodies in place if spacetime is just a description of relations between physical systems?
If spacetime isn't a real entity but rather an emergent description of relations between physical systems, I'm struggling with a very basic question: what keeps bodies "suspended" at their ...
- 125
3
votes
2
answers
161
views
In what way does philosophy of measurement impact measurement in practice in physics and metrology?
This question is very similar to a question I asked here on physics stack exchange, but I hope to be a bit more specific and concise.
I recently came across the book "Foundations of Measurement&...
4
votes
7
answers
1k
views
Is there a distinction between colors (secondary qualities) and shape/extension/solidity (primary qualities)?
I read that several philosophers like Galileo and Locke have made this distinction which says that colors are only there in the mind, while properties like shapes/solidity are really out there as ...
- 1,261
3
votes
0
answers
66
views
How does the category of necessity apply to causality (in Kant)?
At first I was vexed by Kant's statement about necessity being when possibility yields actuality. I get the idea of it, but it seems to depend on an advanced-modalizing claim that whatever is possible ...
- 9,217
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Help terrified about Boltzmann brains [closed]
The idea of the Boltzmann brain has been causing me on and off distress for a couple years since the first time I found out about it. The majority of the answers I stumbled across on physics spaces ...
- 169
0
votes
7
answers
711
views
Can empiricism itself be insufficient in answering the problem of fundamental physical constants
( i posted this question on physics SE first, got advised to post it here, that post got closed, so I deleted it )
I believe I have figured out a provable shortcoming, rather limit, of the whole ...
- 125
6
votes
3
answers
235
views
Can something like Kolmogorov Complexity be applied to the world in general?
The Question
Kolmogorov Complexity (hereinafter, KC) is a measure of the complexity of a string, which is a sequence of characters, usually just one and zero. There is good reason to think that what ...
- 17.5k
-1
votes
5
answers
379
views
The productive role of ideology in theoretical physics
In what ways have philosophical or ideological worldviews positively influenced the development and interpretation of theories in physics especially in quantum mechanics? Can interpretive diversity, ...
- 906