On 3/29/2015 5:57 PM, LizR wrote:
On 29 March 2015 at 21:04, Bruce Kellett <bhkell...@optusnet.com.au
<mailto:bhkell...@optusnet.com.au>> wrote:
As you see, I believe in physicalism, not in Platonia. And I have not yet
seen any
argument that might lead me to change my mind.
One reason that has been suggested is the "unreasonable effectiveness" of maths as a
description of physics. This is Max Tegmark's argument for the "Mathematical Universe
Hypothesis". To take this to its logical conclusion, if we ever formulate a theory that
(as far as we know) describes everything that exists - a real live TOE - then, Tegmark
would say, what is there that distinguishes the universe from the, by hypothesis
completely accurate, description? His conclusion is nothing, and since the maths
description is simpler than the observed universe, the scientific conclusion is that
what we observe is a part of a multiverse containing all outcomes of the TOE (this is a
bit like Russell's TON, with the equations of the TOE as the "almost nothing" that
actually exists) - and that assuming the universe is anything more than just "What the
maths looks like from the inside" is unnecessary - and untestable - metaphysical
speculation.
However we don't have such a TOE as yet, so it's possible it will turn out to be
non-mathematical, in which case Max's argument will sink without trace.
It's bit of a metaphysical trick. What physicists think of as a TOE is definition of
dynamics. A lot of stuff gets left out as boundary conditions, symmetry breaking, and
inherent randomness. The trick is to push all this stuff off into other worlds where it
doesn't need to be explained because "everything happens" in the multiverse. But then what
we would like to add to Max's description is, "Yeah, but which one are *we* in?"
Brent
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