Famous Idealists in the history of science

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Martin_
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Re: Famous Idealists in the history of science

Post by Martin_ »

Here's another one: Max Planck.
"I don't understand." /Unknown
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Martin_
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Re: Famous Idealists in the history of science

Post by Martin_ »

"I don't understand." /Unknown
Simon Adams
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Re: Famous Idealists in the history of science

Post by Simon Adams »

I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in the ordinary sense; they are forms, ideas which can be expressed unambiguously only in mathematical language.
Werner Heisenberg
Ideas are certain original forms of things, their archetypes, permanent and incommunicable, which are contained in the Divine intelligence. And though they neither begin to be nor cease, yet upon them are patterned the manifold things of the world that come into being and pass away.
St Augustine
Astra052
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Re: Famous Idealists in the history of science

Post by Astra052 »

Simon Adams wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 7:57 pm
I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in the ordinary sense; they are forms, ideas which can be expressed unambiguously only in mathematical language.
Werner Heisenberg
It's honestly interesting how many of the big 20th century physicists were idealists or idealist-adjacent.
Jim Cross
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Re: Famous Idealists in the history of science

Post by Jim Cross »

I think most of the scientists mentioned aren't really idealists or, if they are, their idealism is largely unrelated to their work.

Piaget, Maslow, Carl Rogers, for example.

I don't think Husserl qualifies as a scientist, although he may have influenced science.

I'm not even sure Sheldrake is a complete idealist. His morphic fields could as easily be considered physical but, even if not considered physical, they are still affecting the physical world. That would make him more some sort of dualist.

Henry Stapp is probably about as close as you get to idealism in modern physics.

Maybe scientists that accept the "consciousness causes collapse" interpretation would be considered idealists of some sort.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neuma ... rpretation

Maybe Fritjof Capra.

Max Tegmark with his mathematical universe might be considered a variant of idealist.
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