From the series ‘60/60 the best of SPCh’ (45) [60 most interesting publications from 60 years of SPCh]
2025-12-04
Stanisław Butryn:The idea of the mathematical nature of nature and the problem of the unity of natural sciences[Studia Philosophiae Christianae 33(1997)2 pp. 95-101].
DESCRIPTION: Stanisław Butryn (1941-2025) was a philosopher specializing in the philosophy of science, particularly physics and astronomy. He was the author of numerous books and publications, including An Outline of Albert Einstein's Philosophy and works related to materialistic-dialectical ontology. He collaborated with the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFIS PAN). In May 1989, a symposium on the mathematical nature of nature was held in Krakow. The papers presented at the symposium were published the following year by the Pontifical Academy of Theology in a volume entitled “The Mathematical Nature of Nature.” The article in question was an attempt to revive the discussion on this topic. The author analyzed the positions of selected authors dealing with the issue of the mathematical nature of nature. He stated that while the belief in the empirical roots of mathematics and the view that if we assign equivalents in the form of real objects and phenomena to the concepts of a mathematical theory, the theory will transform into a natural science theory, are based on some significant arguments, the thesis that mathematics as such is a natural science is untenable. The view that denies the mathematical nature of nature does not have many supporters today. The prevailing view today is that nature is mathematical. There is a similarity between the structure of the universe and the structures created by mathematics. This similarity provides the basis for identifying both types of structures as identical. And since these structures are identical, nature is mathematical in the sense that it is built from mathematics. "As can be seen, the argument for the unity of the natural sciences based on Einstein's understanding of the mathematical nature and simplicity of nature raises doubts today, both ontologically and epistemologically. Nevertheless, the pursuit of this unity on the basis of the mathematical nature of nature seems today to be the best way to achieve this goal. (...) However, today, the realization of the unity of the natural sciences on the basis of the mathematical nature of nature is a much more difficult and complex undertaking than Einstein thought, due to the possibility of qualitatively different manifestations of this mathematical nature, and above all due to the discovery and realization of the epistemological implications of limitation theorems, which show that the realization of certain epistemological ideas, such as Einstein's postulate discussed above, is impossible" (p. 101).
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