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By Fred Hancock
The belief that all possible phenomena can be explained by the fundamental mechanics of physics.
(1) A set of foundational axioms, capable of (2) creating a convincing and enduring framework for interacting with the world by, (3) constructing a coherent and knowable external world with (4) a self-reifying internal logic which (5) presents this framework as true, unconditionally and exclusively.
"God does not play dice with the universe!"
-Definitions
-Axioms
-Frameworks
-Constructing Certainty
-A set of formally accepted assertions from which further conclusions may be drawn.
-It is impossible to draw a conclusion without first assuming at least one axiom.
-Any body of knowledge, deduced from a set of assumed axioms, that provides a model for how to interact with the world
-The Enlightenment Ideal:
-All things can be explained by science
-Empiricism is the correct way to generate knowledge about the world
-The Cosmological Principle:
-Combines the assumptions of Homogeneity and Isotrophy
-Basically, the universe consists of the same substance and operates according to the same laws across all possible Spacetime coordinates
-A mathematical system consisting of 3 dimensions, drawn from 5 central axioms
-Geometry that includes the Pythagorean Theorem
-By replacing the 5th axiom of Euclidean Geometry the result is called Hyperbolic Geometry, the second of the two "Absolute Geometries" (There are many more)
-More familiar as the 4 dimensional geometry which the Theory of Special Relativity is derived from.
If you are sick, take some medicine,
-Science generates powerful tools that we use every day to great effect, Religions do not
-Physical Reductionism relies on scientifically generated knowledge, and science is all about doubting and replacing hypotheses, so it doesn't endure the same way
Your biological body will respond to the chemicals in the medicine,
Because:
The interaction between the electrons in the medicine's chemicals will interact with your body's chemicals and make you healthy.
-Christianity doubts Biblical interpretations too!
-Physical Reductionism doesn't have a monopoly on deductive reasoning
-Science is not a religion, it is a method of knowledge creation
-When Physical Reductionists realized that all particles in the universe are inherently massless, they didn't throw out their belief that empiricism works, they just updated the theories
-Geertz argued that humankind's most powerful tool is our ability to conceive of things, and that our worst fear is chaos
-Because, the existence of chaos is an existential threat to human beings, without a coherent world, we would no longer be able to manipulate it to our advantage
-Some form of God(s) have for thousands of years provided the most powerful explanatory theories on the planet, while methods of reasoning like empiricism lead us astray
-Physical Reductionism has now surpassed the explanatory power of God-based religions
-This makes it a more objectively convincing, but does not preclude Physical Reductionism being a religion
"The Laws of Nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God."
-Science builds a body of knowledge from a set of assumed Axioms, in much the same way that any other framework does
-However, by highlighting the failures of other frameworks, and demphasizing its own, Physical Reductionism presents the generation of its knowledge as more legitimate than other frameworks, Physical Reductionism takes on the appearance of creating "Truer Truths"
- This exclusive legitimacy primarily serves to undermine the validity of realities deduced from alternate Axioms
-The current stance on the contradiction here is that the problem is "unsolved"
-As most physicists are Physical Reductionists, they tend to offer an answer somewhere along the lines of, "The Universe works in Mysterious Ways"
-The failures of the Physical Reductionist framework are thus explained away by an appeal to the future
-Must instead go back to their own assumed Axioms, that the world is fundamentally understandable and empirical methods will get us there
"It can be shown that a mathematical web of some kind can be woven about any universe containing several objects. The fact that our universe lends itself to mathematical treatment is not a fact of any great philosophical significance"