A Critical Realist Perspective on Beauty in Physics
Abstract
The statements of physicists about the beauty of physics have inspired philosophers to investigate the nature of such claims from a philosophical perspective. When philosophers look at what physicists say, however, they find a variety of theories and aspects of physics that are identified as beautiful as well as some disagreement. Just using the physicists’ statements, it is difficult to determine where exactly the beauty of physics lies. This paper proposes to use the critical realist philosophy of aesthetics as a foundation for examining what scientists say about the beauty of their subject, and the main contention is that critical realist aesthetics best accounts for their assertions.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bohm, D. (2010). On Creativity. New York, NY: Routledge.
Chandrasekhar, S. (1987). Truth and Beauty: Aesthetics and Motivations in Science. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
de Regt, H.W. (2002). ‘Beauty in physics science circa 2000.’ International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 16(1), 95-103. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02698590120118855 [Accessed 23.5.2023]
Duhem, P.M.M. (1991). The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Engler, G. (2002) ‘Einstein and the most beautiful theories in physics’. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 16(1)27-37. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02698590120118800 [Accessed 2.5.2023].
Heisenberg, W.K. (1970). ‘The Meaning of Beauty in Exact Natural Science.’ Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science. Rome: Interdisciplinary Documentation on Religion and Science. Available at https://inters.org/heisenberg-beauty-natural-science [Accessed 9.8.2023].
Ivanovna, M. (2021) ‘The Aesthetics of Scientific Experiment.’ Philosophy Compass, 16(3):e12730. Available at: https://doi.org/10.111/phc3.12730 [Accessed 2.5.2023].
Kovach, F. (1976). Philosophy of Beauty. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Lederman, L.M. and Hill, C.T. (2008). Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
McAllister, J. (1996). Beauty and Revolution in Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Root-Bernstein, R.S. 2002. ‘Aesthetic Cognition.’ International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 16(1):61-77. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02698590120118837 [Accessed 4.5.2023].
Schrödinger, E. (1996). Nature and the Greeks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139878333.003 [Accessed 9.8.2023].
Spinoza, B. (1998). “The Ethics,” in: Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources. Translated by S. Shirley. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Stewart, I. (2007). Why Beauty is Truth: a History of Symmetry. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Stolnitz, J. (1960). Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art Criticism. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Available at https://archive.org/details/aestheticsphilos00stol/page/n9/mode/2up [Accessed 09.08.2024].
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23756/sp.v14i1.1705
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2026 Matthew D'Antuono
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Science & Philosophy - Journal of Epistemology, Science and Philosophy. ISSN 2282-7757; eISSN 2282-7765.