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Single Idea 14937

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / a. Concept of matter ]

Full Idea

It is a metaphysical residue of obsolete physics to suppose that the universe is 'made of' anything.

Gist of Idea

That the universe must be 'made of' something is just obsolete physics

Source

J Ladyman / D Ross (Every Thing Must Go [2007], 3.7.2)

Book Ref

Ladyman,J/Ross,D: 'Every Thing Must Go' [OUP 2007], p.172


A Reaction

They quote Smolin as saying that it is 'processes' which are fundamental. And yet surely there must be something there to undergo a process? Surely we don't have eternal platonic processes?

Related Ideas

Idea 14924 If spacetime is substantial, what is the substance? [Ladyman/Ross]

Idea 17450 Understanding 'just as many' needn't involve grasping one-one correspondence [Heck]


The 20 ideas with the same theme [concept of matter emerging in modern physics]:

Attraction or repulsion are not imparted to matter, but actually constitute it [Priestley]
Mendeleev saw three principles in nature: matter, force and spirit (where the latter seems to be essence) [Mendeleev, by Scerri]
At first matter is basic and known by sense-data; later Russell says matter is constructed [Russell, by Linsky,B]
Matter is the limit of appearances as distance from the object diminishes [Russell]
Matter requires a division into time-corpuscles as well as space-corpuscles [Russell]
Matter is a logical construction [Russell]
An atom's stability after collisions needs explaining (which Newton's mechanics can't do) [Heisenberg]
Position is complementary to velocity or momentum, so the whole system is indeterminate [Heisenberg]
It was formerly assumed that electromagnetic waves could not be a reality in themselves [Heisenberg]
Modern theories of matter are grounded in heat, work and energy [Close]
'Physical' means either figuring in physics descriptions, or just located in space-time [Lycan]
'Gunk' is an individual possessing no parts that are atoms [Chihara]
Only four particles are needed for matter: up and down quark, electron, electron-neutrino [Watson]
In physics, matter is an emergent phenomenon, not part of fundamental ontology [Ladyman/Ross]
That the universe must be 'made of' something is just obsolete physics [Ladyman/Ross]
If all elements are multiples of one (of hydrogen), that suggests once again that matter is unified [Scerri]
The stability of nuclei can be estimated through their binding energy [Scerri]
Thermodynamics sees nature as a continuous flow of energy, as radiation and as substance [Baggott]
Nature has three aspects: granularity, indeterminacy, and relations [Rovelli]
If particles have decay rates, they can't really be elementary, in the sense of indivisible [Ingthorsson]