Philosophy
What better time than New Years to think about time. Many people making resolutions, is there any point? Is the future open? Are the events that will take place in the year to come, much less the time after that predetermined by the laws of nature and the initial conditions of the universe?
If you take, for example, Newton's theory of motion and gravitation, then given a certain arrangement of objects with specific masses and velocities there is one and only one way the system of objects could come out. If there is a comet whose path takes it into the Earth's orbit, then we can figure out based upon where it is, how heavy it is, and how fast it is going whether its trajectory will result in a collision. That would be a fixed fact of the universe. It would be a future event that would happen -- the future in that sense would be closed, fixed.
We are collections of physical bits and pieces and even our mind states arise because of chemical, biological, and electrical impulses. Does that mean our futures are closed in the same way? Are we fated to break our diets? Did we have any choice but to go to the gym? Is it just a lack of ability on our part to "see" the future that gives it the appearance of being open or are humans fundamentally different sorts of beings? Are we, unlike comets, planets, and billiard balls, able to shape our own futures? Is human time open in a way different from that of pretty much everything else in the universe?
Happy philosophical new year everyone! I'd extend wishes for good health and well-being to you all, but I'm not sure it would matter...
Would it?
- New Year's Resolutions (for Somebody Else)
Happy New Year! A happy and healthy 2012 to everyone! With the fresh, clean year comes a chance to start anew, to make changes, to make those improvements that bring our actual selves more in line with our potential selves. And thus we make the new year's...
- Second Law Silliness
Been working on the evolutionary biology track in my forthcoming philosophy of science textbook, Methods and Models, and in fairly quick order came across two instances of the argument against evolution based on entropy. It's probably worth making...
- A Physicist's Philosophical Perspective
Israel Perez has provided his insight into the physical world. I cannot totally agree with the paper. Abstract: Without a doubt many problems in physics arise as a consequence of our philosophical conception of the world. In this contribution however...
- Limit On Understanding The Universe
"Either our ability to know reality has reached a dead end, or this is just another theoretical challenge to overcome, and we're approaching it the wrong way." "The Riddle of the Unique" Why is it so hard to build a complete theory of our universe?...
- Edge Of The Universe
Daniel Boorstin, The Discoverers [dust-jacket illustration; attributed to a 16th-century woodcut by the Bettmann Archive] A Medieval science thought experiment...well, maybe not so Medieval: "If you thrust your hand beyond the outermost sphere, would...
Philosophy
Happy New Year and the Nature of Time
What better time than New Years to think about time. Many people making resolutions, is there any point? Is the future open? Are the events that will take place in the year to come, much less the time after that predetermined by the laws of nature and the initial conditions of the universe?
If you take, for example, Newton's theory of motion and gravitation, then given a certain arrangement of objects with specific masses and velocities there is one and only one way the system of objects could come out. If there is a comet whose path takes it into the Earth's orbit, then we can figure out based upon where it is, how heavy it is, and how fast it is going whether its trajectory will result in a collision. That would be a fixed fact of the universe. It would be a future event that would happen -- the future in that sense would be closed, fixed.
We are collections of physical bits and pieces and even our mind states arise because of chemical, biological, and electrical impulses. Does that mean our futures are closed in the same way? Are we fated to break our diets? Did we have any choice but to go to the gym? Is it just a lack of ability on our part to "see" the future that gives it the appearance of being open or are humans fundamentally different sorts of beings? Are we, unlike comets, planets, and billiard balls, able to shape our own futures? Is human time open in a way different from that of pretty much everything else in the universe?
Happy philosophical new year everyone! I'd extend wishes for good health and well-being to you all, but I'm not sure it would matter...
Would it?
- New Year's Resolutions (for Somebody Else)
Happy New Year! A happy and healthy 2012 to everyone! With the fresh, clean year comes a chance to start anew, to make changes, to make those improvements that bring our actual selves more in line with our potential selves. And thus we make the new year's...
- Second Law Silliness
Been working on the evolutionary biology track in my forthcoming philosophy of science textbook, Methods and Models, and in fairly quick order came across two instances of the argument against evolution based on entropy. It's probably worth making...
- A Physicist's Philosophical Perspective
Israel Perez has provided his insight into the physical world. I cannot totally agree with the paper. Abstract: Without a doubt many problems in physics arise as a consequence of our philosophical conception of the world. In this contribution however...
- Limit On Understanding The Universe
"Either our ability to know reality has reached a dead end, or this is just another theoretical challenge to overcome, and we're approaching it the wrong way." "The Riddle of the Unique" Why is it so hard to build a complete theory of our universe?...
- Edge Of The Universe
Daniel Boorstin, The Discoverers [dust-jacket illustration; attributed to a 16th-century woodcut by the Bettmann Archive] A Medieval science thought experiment...well, maybe not so Medieval: "If you thrust your hand beyond the outermost sphere, would...