Abstract
It has been argued that the fundamental laws of physics are deceitful in that they give the impression of greater unity and coherence in our theories than is actually found to be the case. Causal stories and phenomenological relationships are claimed to provide a more acceptable account of the world, and only theoretical entities — not laws — are considered as perhaps corresponding to real features of the world.
This paper examines these claims in the light of the author's own field of research: high energy physics. Some of the distinctions upon which the above conclusions are based are found not to be tenable in practice. Examples from experimental particle physics are presented which suggest an important role of the underlying theoretical structure which cannot be overlooked. It is argued that the fundamental theories must, in fact, be treated as being as worthy or unworthy of ontological commitment as the entities they postulate or the phenomenological relationships they inspire. Whilst it is conceded that aspects of the current theoretical formalism belie literal interpretation, it is maintained that revision in these particular areas need not affect the symmetry principles, particle spectra, or coupling strengths that largely determine the empirical content of the theory.
Various other reasons for believing that the laws of physics may be dishonest are examined and in particular attention is drawn to the current tendency in particle physics to judge a theory's merits by aesthetic criteria. The difficulty of providing a sound justification for this behaviour does lead to the suspicion that our abstract representation of the world may in fact be coloured by anthropomorphic prejudices. The question then remains as to whether this merely points to a certain embellishment of the truth or the masquerading of a lie.
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I would like to thank my colleagues in high energy physics for their comments on this paper, and I am also particularly indebted to members of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University for many fruitful discussions on these and related topics. I have benefitted over many years from stimulating philosophical arguments with my friend Alan Birchall, of the NRPB. I would like to dedicate this paper to the memory of John Bell, who had arranged to meet with me at CERN to discuss some of these topics shortly before his tragic death. He was an inspiration to many of us in high energy physics, with interests in the wider issues raised by our subject, and he will be greatly missed.
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Allport, P.P. Are the laws of physics ‘economical with the truth’?. Synthese 94, 245–290 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01064340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01064340