Will a complete physical model of the world help us to understand ultimate reality? Can we understand?

Question

ultimate reality? Can we understand ultimate reality at all through science?

Answer 1

In my view, science can not guarantee unveiling of the reality, and yet it is our best route towards the ultimate reality.

Science is based on observations, consistency and logic. Observation is dependent on our perception mechanism and there is no guarantee that it is perfect or absolutely true. Our logic also is based on mere consistency and consistency is no guarantee for reality. Science is therefore inherently incapable of revealing the ultimate reality. However, science is the best objective route which can take us close to one step away from the reality.... and then we may need to use our imagination thereafter to leap across that last hurdle to the ultimate reality.

Great question.... hope my answer makes sense.

Answer 2

The universe seems to be fractal in both directions of resolution.
The fun part of that is that that more we learn, the more questions there are. As a result of that, it seems very unlikely that there will ever be a complete physical model. The physical model is inextricably also a non-physical model. There is no separation.
A leading scientist once told me that the fundamentals of physics were all well understood and the only aspect not yet completely understood was chaos. That was two years before the announcements about dark energy.

Answer 3

It's unclear what a "complete physical model" would be. If by that you mean a model that is verifiable/falsifiable by scientific methods - guys in white lab coats, or whatever - I'd have to say it would be necessarily incomplete.

The way I see it, such a model wouldn't include thought because thought is not physical. What color is it? how much does it weigh? Thought cannot be isolated in a lab. With the right equipment scientists can identify brain activity, which goes along with thought - but thought itself can't be reduced to brain activity. If they were equivalent, we could make thinking machine that simply duplicated the electrical activity of the brain.

Where's the electrical brain activity in a book? OK, it's the product of thought. Maybe brain activity is similarly a by-product of thought, rather than the other way around. Just a thought, anyway.

Answer 4

How is "ultimate" reality different from empirical existence, usually called "reality"? What can go beyond empirical existence? A is A.
No, a physical model would not help us understand empirical existence. Understanding comes from cognitive integrity, which requires epistemological principles that work to provide us with a metaphysics that contains no superfluous values. Think "Ockham's Razor."

Answer 5

This is more easily understandable if one considers the actual scale of the components of an atom. If one takes into account the fact that the neutrons, protons and electrons of an atom actually have huge spaces between them it becomes clear that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are made up of 99+ percent empty space.

This alone does not seem too important till you add the idea that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are more of a loose conglomeration that share a similar attraction but never really touch each other.

At first glance this does not really seem relevant, but closer analysis reveals that this adds a tremendous amount of empty space to solid objects that are already made up of atoms that are 99 percent space. When so-called solid objects are seen in this light it becomes apparent that they can in no way be the seemingly solid objects they appear to be.

We ourselves are not exceptions to this phenomenon.

These seemingly solid objects are more like ghostly images that we interpret as solid objects based on our perceptual conclusions.

From this we must conclude that Perception is some sort of a trick that helps us to take these ghostly images and turn them into a world we can associate and interact with. This clever device seems to be a creation of our intellect that enables us to interact with each other in what appears to be a three dimensional reality.

I hope that helps to answered your question.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 6

No, the world is a large place then you have the universe which is bigger, I think we will never understand the world, it is something we can keep questioning but the fact is we will never understand.

Answer 7

well yes It is the best option available if you trust your sense. and of coures you do Other wise you wouldn't know that there was an external world.

Answer 8

The answers to your questions are :
No and no.