PHYSICS NEEDS PHILOSOPHY. PHILOSOPHY NEEDS PHYSICS

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Abstract

Contrary to claims about the irrelevance of philosophy for science, I argue that philosophy has had, and still has, far more influence on physics than is commonly assumed. I maintain that the current anti-philosophical ideology has had damaging effects on the fertility of science. I also suggest that recent important empirical results, such as the detection of the Higgs particle and gravitational waves, and the failure to detect supersymmetry where many expected to find it, question the validity of certain philosophical assumptions common among theoretical physicists, inviting us to engage in a clearer philosophical reflection on scientific method.

About the authors

C. Rovelli

Aix-Marseille University

Marseille, 13007, France

I. A Rybakova

Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences

12, bld 1, Goncharnaya St, Moscow, 109240, Russian Federation

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