The truth of the clockwork universe
turned out to be just an illusion…
something that seemed a logical certainty..
revealed itself merely as an act of faith
- Jim Al-Khalili
Conversation
I appreciate Jim Al-Khalili's books and science documentaries, but I question his notion that nature is ruled by mathematical principles.
Yes, mathematics can be used to model natural processes, but math doesn't exist outside human minds.
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the concepts, the names, yes.
the actual objects to which the names refer? no.
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indeed. science is a human attempt to create models digestible by the human mind.
even so, is it unreasonable to believe that objects external to the human mind exist?
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Mind cannot know anything, I agree.
I am not asking whether one can be certain, but whether it is reasonable to believe that the 4th rock from the Sun, Mars, exists outside of this mind.
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I think it depends on what you mean by "reasonable".
Practical and instrumental? Yes.
Ontologically defensible? Probably not.