In philosophy, the philosophy of physics studies the fundamental philosophical questions underlying modern physics, the study of matter and energy and how they interact. The philosophy of physics begins by reflecting on the basic metaphysical and epistemological questions posed by physics: causality, determinism, and the nature of physical law. It then turns to questions raised by important topics in contemporary physics:
- Physical cosmology: space, time, and the origin and ultimate fate of the universe;
- Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics: energy, work, randomness, information;
- Quantum mechanics: the rival interpretations thereof, and its counterintuitive conclusions.
Centuries ago, the study of causality, and of the fundamental nature of space, time, matter, and the universe were part of metaphysics. Today the philosophy of physics is essentially a part of the philosophy of science. Physicists utilize the scientific method to delineate the universals and constants governing physical phenomena, and the philosophy of physics reflects on the results of this empirical research.
Read more about Philosophy Of Physics: Purpose of Physics, Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics, Einstein On The Importance of The Philosophy of Physics
Famous quotes containing the words philosophy and/or physics:
“The literature of the poor, the feelings of the child, the philosophy of the street, the meaning of household life, are the topics of the time. It is a great stride. It is a sign,—is it not? of new vigor, when the extremities are made active, when currents of warm life run into the hands and the feet.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The fundamental laws of physics do not describe true facts about reality. Rendered as descriptions of facts, they are false; amended to be true, they lose their explanatory force.”
—Nancy Cartwright (b. 1945)