Philosophical Writings

Author(s): Hemant Shah
Publisher: Academy of Philosophy

Page 54

Logos In Philosophy. Religion and Science
mechanics the experimenters and what they do are not separated from the observation and the experiment. According to Schroedinger's wave equation, which generates an endless profusion of possibilities, when perception takes place, one part actualizes into “reality” by chance. No one knows why one possibility occurs and not another. The modern particle physicist has nothing to say concerning what happens between measurements. As Heisenberg said, “The term 'happens' is restricted to the observation.” This is an exceedingly important new philosophy of science."
The basic oneness of the universe is one of the most important “revelations of modern physics”. According to modern physics the universe is a web of relations which is dynamic. This dynamic aspect of matter arises in quantum theory as a consequence of the wave nature of sub - atomic particles. It could only be “understood in terms of movement, interaction and transformation. The material objects which seem to be passive and dead are, in fact, when seen in their magnified state, full of activity. Even when we go to large dimensions - stars and galaxies, we recognize the dynamic nature of the universe. It has been now proved in modern physics that the universe is, as a whole, not static but expanding ! Leaving the details about the expansion of the universe and how it is measured, we should note that the idea of expanding and contracting universe, has also been found in Indian as well as western mythology. “Experiencing the universe as an organic and rhythmically moving cosmos” reveals a systematic law-operating phenomenon - all objects as processes in a universal flux." According to our present knowledge of matter, its basic patterns are the subatomic particles forming a dynamic world. Even the modern astrophysicists and cosmologists acknowledge the basic unity of cosmos.” In the words of the astronomer Fred Hoyle, “Our everyday experience even down to the smallest details seems to be so closely integrated to the grand scale features of the Universe that it is well nigh impossible to contemplate the two being separated."49