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Physics Bulletin

The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture

S Banerjee

Published May 1, 1984• 892 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Fritjof Capra 1983 London: Fontana Paperbacks xx + 516 pp price £3.50 ISBN 0 00 654017 1 Discoveries in modern subatomic physics have introduced into the scientific world the idea that an innate systemic interdependence exists between all physical phenomena. Gradually all investigators of the true nature of reality will adopt this new philosophy of interrelatedness, which will bring today's confused Western culture to a natural 'turning point'.

DOI
10.1088/0031-9112/35/5/024

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Fritjof Capra 1983 London: Fontana Paperbacks xx + 516 pp price £3.50 ISBN 0 00 654017 1 Discoveries in modern subatomic physics have introduced into the scientific world the idea that an innate systemic interdependence exists between all physical phenomena. Gradually all investigators of the true nature of reality will adopt this new philosophy of interrelatedness, which will bring today's confused Western culture to a natural 'turning point'.
We have now concluded our summary of the findings of modern physics, and may turn to consider how these findings affect the practical problems of philosophy and of everyday life. But let us first recapitulate the conclusions we have reached in our scientific discussion. Recapitulation Because we are human beings and not mere animals, we try to discover as much as we can about the world in which our lives are cast. We have seen that there is only one method of gaining such knowledge—the method of science, which consists in a direct questioning of nature by observation and experiment. The first thing we learn from such questioning is that the world is rational; its happenings are not determined by caprice but by law. There exists what we have called a ‘pattern of events’, and the primary aim of physical science is the discovery of this pattern. This, as we have seen, will be capable of description only in mathematical terms. The new quantum theory explained in the preceding chapter has provided a mathematical description of the pattern of events which is believed to be complete and perfect. For it enables us—in principle at least—to predict every possible phenomenon of physics, and not one of its predictions has so far proved to be wrong. In a sense, then, we might say that theoretical physics has achieved the main purpose of its being, and that nothing remains but to work out the details.
Karl R Popper 1982 London: Hutchinson xviii + 228 pp price £15 This final volume of Sir Karl Popper's long-awaited Postscript to The Logic of Scientific Discovery appears through the editorial efforts of W W Bartley III, and constitutes a major addition to Popper's published corpus, of particular interest to theoretical physicists, historians of the quantum revolution, and philosophers of science. In it, a basic theme of Popper's philosophy, that something can come from nothing, is related to the present situation in physical theory.
1. This is a belated review of a highly interesting and thought provoking book. Although dealing with some difficulties of a very specialized modern theory, the quantum theory, it should yet be of interest to the many non-physicists who want to know about the world we live in as well as about the ideas which are at present being developed for understanding this world. It is often assumed – and the basic philosophy of many contemporary physicists supports this assumption – that within the sciences speculation and ingenuity cannot play a very great role as physical theories are more or less uniquely determined by the facts. It is of course also assumed that our present knowledge about the microcosm is determined in exactly this way and is therefore irrevocable, at least in its main features. The book shows that this is not correct, it shows that today there exists a clash of ideas about some very fundamental things, that the imposing and perhaps a little terrifying picture of science as an unalterable and steadily increasing collection of facts is nothing but a myth, and that ingenuity and speculation play in physics as great a role as anywhere else. It also shows that even now it is possible to present difficult matters in an interesting and understandable way. It shows thereby that the separation, so often deplored, between the sciences and the humanities is due to a false picture, if not a caricature of science.
The emergence of quantum theory is one of the great stories of modern science. One reason is that the theory represents a genuine scientific revolution, on a par with the theory of evolution by natural selection or the general theory of relativity. Another is that it emerged gradually over a number of decades, with distinct contributions from many great scientists. Lastly, while quantum theory underpins much of today's technology, at its dark heart lie problems of interpretation unprecedented in science, bringing into question our most basic assumptions about the nature of reality.
This chapter outlines the motivation for the work. It is argued that, acknowledging the remarkable progress of science, it is essential to dissect the modern world view from the aspects of physics. The physicist may be the outsider here, but he may also bring new light on a confusing situation. In order to combine the thinking in physics with that of philosophy, the lives and achievements of Bohr and Wittgenstein have been chosen and are discussed in some detail. The analysis is based on personal experiences; it thus remains a fiction: The Myth of Physics and the World.