'Spacetime is Einstein's castle in the air' | Eric Weinstein on metaphysics and science
690Eric Weinstein on how science should proceed - with spacetime as our map, not as the territory.
Do you agree with his perspective?
Watch the full debate at https://iai.tv/video/the-matrix-myths...
Not so long ago philosophers and scientists were deeply critical of overall metaphysical accounts of the world, arguing that they were empty nonsense and should be consigned to the dustbin. 'Metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe on instinct', concluded the author Somerset Maugham. But metaphysics is back. Idealism, possible worlds, panpsychism all have their adherents. 'We are living in a simulation', Matrix followers, like Elon Musk, intone. But is this a fundamental error that we once had recognised and have now forgotten, that trades evidence and reality for fiction and fantasy?
Should we recognise all overall metaphysical accounts as speculative nonsense? Since there can be no empirical evidence for any of them, is contemporary science the only way to determine the nature of things? Or might metaphysics be not only necessary but unavoidable?
#spacetime #metaphysics #science
Eric Weinstein is the host of the premiere podcast The Portal. A doctor of mathematical physics, Eric has proposed that the scientific consensus in physics is broken and radical change in the community is needed. Becky Parker is a renowned physicist who won the first RAS Patrick Moore Medal for outstanding work as a teacher of astronomy. She has received an Honorary Fellowship at the Institute of Physics. Hilary Lawson is a philosopher and an outspoken critic of philosophical realism. He is best known for his theory of Closure, which puts forward a non-realist metaphysics. He is the founder and editorial director of the IAI.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! https://iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=Y...
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Spacetime is Einstein's castle in the air
02:25 Being irresponsible
For debates and talks: https://iai.tv
For articles: https://iai.tv/articles
For courses: https://iai.tv/iai-academy/courses