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PHYSICS – ‘ALIENATION FROM’ INSTEAD OF ‘ORIENTATION TOWARDS’ THE CREATOR?

100%
Larenz R.
Roczniki Teologii Moralnej
|
2011
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vol. 3(58)
5-37
EN
The religious attitude of many physicists is atheist or agnostic. In the present article, it is argued that this attitude is favoured by the present shape of the natural science called Physics. The first reason is that the modern concept of nature is alienated from that of creation. The second is that, according to the dominating view, nature is epistemologically silent about itself. Additionally, the view of the axiomatic and thence hypothetical-deductive character of modern Mathematics and the conjectural character of its applications to the material world make impossible an organic connection between mathematical objects and material things. There exists only a practical knowledge of the successful use of Mathematics in Physics. This peculiar epistemological climate in Physics has become more and more alienated from the intellectual climate generated by ordinary experience and its evidence, which in turn is confirmed by Christian revelation. It is this peculiar intellectual atmosphere in which a physicist carries out his professional actions. Their moral assessment is done with the help of two distinctions: the first between the views of Physics as providing a physicalist world-view or as a field of professional activity like others. The second distinction is between the two effects of a professional action of a physicist: every such action tends to its immediate object, and every such action, by upkeeping the existing professional standards, contributes eo ipso toperpetuate the present intellectual climate in Physics. While such actions may be still morally acceptable, the situation is precarious. Therefore it is convenient to have Physics reformed from within. Such an internal reform should be experience-based and thus start from the very outset from the epistemological climate generated by ordinary experience, which is in harmony with the epistemological climate generated by Christian revelation. This reason on moral grounds is the third motive for attempting an internal reform of Physics. The first one concerns the removal of the ignorance about the link of mathematical objects to material things. It is simply due to the necessity of having a sound selfunderstanding of Physics. This in turn is closely related to the “apologetic” motive of removing the disharmony between the epistemological climates referred to above. Surprisingly, some current views of the relationship between Theology and Physics (I. G. Barbour, M. Heller, Th. F. Torrance) do not envisage any need for an internal reform of Physics. Instead they promote an increased influence of Physics upon Theology.
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On an Amendment of the Morality of a Physicist's Professional Actions. A New Element of Inculturation of Christianity into a Scientific-Technological Civilization

100%
Larenz R.
Roczniki Teologiczne
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2019
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vol. 66
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issue 3: Teologia moralna
51-68
PL
Fizycy są zobowiązani, zgodnie z ustalonymi metodami i standardami fizyki, do myślenia i działania w ramach epistemologicznych, na co głęboki wpływ miał I. Kant. Klimat epistemologiczny, w którym się znajdują, sprzeciwia się epistemologicznemu klimatowi realizmu naturalnego, a tym samym epistemologicznemu klimatowi Objawienia chrześcijańskiego, kiedy mówi ono o naszym świecie. Ten kontrast niszczy wewnętrzną harmonię świata umysłowego każdego fizyka w takim stopniu, w jakim zależy on od jego ogólnego sposobu myślenia, a także od jego pracy zawodowej. Sytuacja ta trwa od czasów rewolucji naukowej XVII wieku, tak że wcześniejsza cywilizacja odznaczająca się realizmem i duchem chrześcijańskim została w zasadzie zastąpiona przez cywilizację naukowo-technologiczną. Historyczny rozwój fizyki doprowadził do sytuacji, w której praca zawodowa fizyków, z jej niewątpliwymi sukcesami i wkładem w postęp, prowadzi wraz z moralnie godziwym przedmiotem do dwóch złych skutków. Pierwszym złym skutkiem jest współistnienie w umyśle fizyka dwóch przeciwnych epistemologicznych klimatów, co niszczy wewnętrzną harmonię jego świata umysłowego. Natychmiast pociąga to za sobą drugi zły skutek w sytuacji, gdy fizyk, aby być zawodowo konkurencyjnym, jest zmuszony do przestrzegania metod i standardów fizyki, tak jak teraz. W ten sposób przyczynia się do braku harmonii w jego umysłowym świecie i poprzez swój drobny wkład utrwala ducha tych metod i standardów. W trudniejszej sytuacji jest fizyk, który jest chrześcijaninem i chce wykonywać swoją pracę zawodową na chwałę Boga (por. 1 Kor 10,31). W obu przypadkach fizyk, wykonując swoją pracę zawodową, w praktyce zaprzecza o tym, o czym jest w teorii przekonany, a mianowicie o realizmie naturalnym, a dodatkowo, w przypadku chrześcijanina także o tym, że chrześcijańskie Objawienie mówi o naszym świecie w duchu naturalnego realizmu. Wszystko to nie jest nieznane, ale mimo to jest praktycznie pomijane w dyskursie akademickim. W związku z tym, celem tego artykułu jest zwrócenie uwagi na powyższą kwestię, a następnie wskazanie kilku sposobów dokładniejszego zbadania kontrastu epistemologicznych klimatów, ponieważ fizyka jest częściowo kształtowana przez eksperymenty, a jej historyczny rozwój jest również częściowo warunkowy. Dlatego możliwe jest osiągnięcie lepszej harmonii epistemologicznych klimatów fizyki i realizmu naturalnego. Artykuł sugeruje także pewne idee w tym zakresie. Jeśli okażą się one owocne, przyczynią się do inkulturacji chrześcijaństwa w naszej cywilizacji naukowo-technicznej. Innymi słowy stanowiłoby to wsparcie dla nowej ewangelizacji.
EN
Physicists are bound, by the established methods and standards of Physics, to think and act within an epistemological framework that is deeply influenced by I. Kant. The epistemological climate they find themselves in is opposed to the epistemological climate of Natural Realism and, thus, to the epistemological climate of Christian revelation, when it speaks about our world. This contrast damages the internal harmony of each physicist's mental world to a degree that depends on his overall mindset as well as on his professional work. This situation is ongoing since the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, so that the earlier civilization imbued with a realist and Christian spirit is superseded, by and large, by a scientific-technological civilization. The historical development of Physics has brought about the situation that the professional work of physicists produces, with its doubtless successes and contributions to progress, immediately together with its morally good object two enchained morally bad effects. The first bad effect is the co-existence, in a physicist's mind, of two opposite epistemological climates, which damages the internal harmony of his mental world. That immediately entails a second bad effect, insofar a physicist who wants to be professionally competitive finds himself obliged to follow the methods and standards of physics as they happen to be now. In that way, he contributes to the lack of harmony in his own mental world and his grain of sand to perpetuate the spirit of those methods and standards. The situation is worse for a physicist who is a Christian and wants to do his professional work for the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor 10:31). In both cases, a physicist is denying in practice, by his professional work, what he is convinced of in theory, namely of Natural Realism and, additionally in the case of a Christian, that Christian revelation speaks of our world in the spirit of Natural Realism. All that is not unknown, but nevertheless is practically passed by in the academic discourse. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to call attention to this topic and then to suggest some ways of examining more specifically the contrast of the epistemological climates. As Physics is partly shaped by experimental interventions, its historical development is also partly contingent. This is why it is possible to achieve a better harmony of the epistemological climates of Physics and Natural Realism. The article suggests some ideas in that respect, too. If these ideas turn out to be fruitful, they would contribute to the inculturation of Christianity in our scientific-technological civilization. In other words, it would be a flanking aid for the New Evangelization.
3
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Substance and Dynamics: Two Elements of Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophy of Nature in the Foundation of Mathematics in Physics

100%
Larenz R.
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2017
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vol. 6
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issue 3
451-483
EN
The article aims at proposing a way of solution to the problem why mathematics is efficient in physics. Its strategy consists in, first, identifying servere reductionisms performed on physical processes in order to have them correspond to mathematics. As this makes it impossible to understand the real relationship between matter and mathematics, a necessary step on the way to an understanding is to abandon the reductionisms from the very outset. Consequently, one is faced with the need of searching for mathematical elements in nature, as if there never had been any successful mathematics in physics. And for this search, one has to rely on experience alone. To this end, the article takes its inspiration from two pillars of Aristotelian philosophy of nature, the notions of ‘substance’ and ‘dynamics’, together with a careful examination of the treasure of accumulated experience in physics. Upon this basis, the hylomorphic structure of elementary particles, which are considered to be at the basis of all material substances, is the source for the most common features of the dynamical order of material things in general. This dynamical order, in turn, is quite likely to be reflected in mathematical terms. This is a novel approach because, at present, the most common framework for dealing with the question of mathematics in physics is Scientific Realism. It addresses the question why the existent physico-mathematical theories are successful. In order to find an answer, it starts from these theories and some methodological considerations, but does not address the question of where these theories stem from. In particular, it does not consider the possibility that these theories might, at least in part, stem from the material things they are referring to. The latter approach is what is suggested here. It is that of Natural Realism, of which Aristotle is an eminent representative.
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