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Can the different sciences be unified?

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firemonkey
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27 Jan 2020, 11:09 am

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The world around us is populated by a vast variety of things – ranging from genes and animals to atoms, particles and fields. While these can all be described by the natural sciences, it seems some can only be understood in terms of biology while others can only be explored using chemistry or physics. And when it comes to human behaviour, disciplines like sociology or psychology are the most useful.

This richness has intrigued philosophers, leading them to think about how the sciences are connected (or disconnected), but also about how things in the world relate to one another. Our new project, called the Metaphysical Unity of Science and funded by the European Research Council, is trying to answer these questions.


https://theconversation.com/from-quarks ... ied-130145


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Fnord
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27 Jan 2020, 11:24 am

"All science is either physics or stamp-collecting" -- attributed to Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)


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Fnord
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27 Jan 2020, 11:32 am

 

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firemonkey
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27 Jan 2020, 11:34 am

That was funny .


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aquafelix
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29 Jan 2020, 7:31 am

Fnord wrote:
 
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That is until the psychology students use the pendulum to hypnotize the physics students and make them believe they are Albert Einsteins cat



zacb
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08 Feb 2020, 12:22 am

Stafford Beer mentioned this in his presentation on Cybernetics. Worth a look IMO.



Bravo5150
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28 Mar 2020, 6:22 pm

I don't think it would be possible to unite all sciences. I can't even get a physician to give me a medical opinion in a field outside of their specialty. How can I expect an astronaut to give me an educated opinion about my bladder control issues if I can't even get a psychiatrist to discuss the problem?



Fnord
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28 Mar 2020, 7:06 pm

When you consider science as the study of the universe, then the sciences are already "unified" in an hierarchy, which has its roots in maths and logic. To illustrate:

Image


In a humanistic context, we have the following:
• Sociology, which depends on...
• Psychology, which depends on...
• Biology, which depends on...
• Chemistry, which depends on...
• Physics (Classical & Quantum), which depends on...
• Maths, which depends on...
• Logic.

In an astronomical context, we have:
• Astronomy & Cosmology, which depend on...
• Physics (Classical & Quantum), which depends on...
• Maths, which depends on...
• Logic.

Science is already unified, even though each field of study within science focuses on its own specialty.


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The mere fact that science may not yet adequately explain an object, event, or experience does not mean the immediate explanation should automatically default to a conspiratorial, extraterrestrial, paranormal, or supernatural cause.