Speaker:
Mitchell Roberts
Affiliation:
UNSW Sydney
Date:
Tue, 03/11/2020 - 1:00pm
Venue:
Zoom meeting link: https://unsw.zoom.us/j/83666023136
Abstract:
In 1960 Eugene Wigner wrote The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences, an essay questioning the role of mathematics in the physical sciences, and especially questioning the extremely accurate results mathematical theories provide in quantum physics. In this talk we lay out a philosophical framework for the application of mathematics in the physical sciences which draws on Aristotelian Realism, Strong Formalism, and an Empiricist schema. We then apply this framework to the application of Euclidean geometry as formalised by Euclid and Hilbert. Finally we consider in light of this case study the legitimacy of Wigner's questions.