Question by Sophia all i hear is blah blah: Are there any instances where a metaphysical theory has been proven by physical evidence?
I can’t think of any; but my perceptions may be colored by my personal beliefs on the issue.
Could things from one “realm” be proven by things from an entirely different one?
PS–please dumb down any super-scientific answers to a public television level, so I can understand. ; )
I was hoping to not have to put too fine a point on it; but in particular I was referring to the idea that science could ever prove or disprove the existence of God. However, I don’t mean that question particularly…just if there are any parallels.
Best answer:
Answer by Mick
well you see…um…42
Add your own answer in the comments!
I’m not sure what a “metaphysical theory” is.
EDIT: Well, I think you have to define “God” before you can decide whether his existence can be verified. You also have to decide on a philosophy of science.
Let’s first say that everything that “exists” is a form of information — that is not a controversial position in traditional physics. A particle floating around another particle is information, and information results from other information in a vast computer called the universe (or multiverse). Science is a tool to estimate that information — we weight things, measure things, calculate trajectories, etc.
Now, if God answers your prayers, that answer is a form of information and should be subject to scientific inquiry just like any other kind of information. Experiencing God should be testable in the same way that experiencing a smell should be — we should see neurotransmitters or hormones popping in and out of existence.
Little well-defined “God singularities” should be testable, such that we can tell God is influencing people.
But then again, if God doesn’t answer your prayers and isn’t really involved with anyone personally, he becomes too nebulous to define and test.
There is only one ‘realm’
Physical reality. All others are metaphorical at best and in a word – made-up.
*Steve N – quantum entanglement cannot be used to send information.*
Stanford university has proven that information can travel faster that the speed of light because particles are somehow connected over large distances.
“Meta”Physical 😉
Metaphysics isn’t a theory.
By metaphysical to you mean supernatural? Or do you mean “not referred to/accepted by science”?
“Supernatural” is basically a nonsense word, like “timeless”. If something exists and/or interacts with the natural, then it’s natural, too.
Things like ESP, ghosts and gods are often called “metaphysical”, which seems to mean “real, but for some odd reason undetectable using the scientific methods of inquiry and analysis”.
Edit to asker: If “other realms” (higher dimensions, other universes, etc.) exist, why wouldn’t they be as natural as our is? And if they could interact with our “realm” in a delectable way, wouldn’t that be the result of “natural” processes that cause detectable effects?
Edit to asker: It’s suspiciously convenient to define an entity asserted to exist as also being undetectable.
I’m not sure what you mean by metaphysics or by proof. Do you consider quantum mechanics metaphysical? And by physical proof do you mean being able to observe directly something at the subatomic level? Maybe you could put down one metaphysical thing and ask if it has been proved.
Physics assumes at the very least the reality of the physical world. The problem is that the only basis for this assumption is metaphysical. Sort of like Plato’s idea of “green”.
The judgment of reality, like that of truth, is metaphysical. Evidence may be considered physical, but the judgment itself is metaphysical.
We can only ‘skirt’ the issue if you will, in as much as we are basically qualified to handle the concrete subjects IN this life — but the construct OF life is something we cannot ‘put our finger on’.
Here is a link to an article – I enjoyed the circles of thought here.
http://www.outyourbackdoor.com/Fifthway/Metatext.htm
i really want to provide a clever answer for this, but i just can’t. life as an atheist would be so much simpler.
Good question. I don’t personally care for words like “metaphysical” or “supernatural” because they indicate something that lies outside of nature somehow. And I don’t think there’s anything outside of nature – just natural events we don’t yet understand. Belief in magic should have been left back in the Dark Ages where it belongs.
That being said, there must be a staggering amount of natural phenomena that we have never experienced or have experienced but have no explanation for. This is an unimaginably vast universe. We are a young race of primates who have never even left the orbit of our home planet. We can perceive four out of (if M-Theory is right) eleven dimensions in this universe which might be just one of many such universes. For someone to say that, because we haven’t conclusively proven something, it cannot possibly exist is just as small-minded and arrogant as saying that an invisible omnipotent man magically wished everything into existence just so some hairless apes could kiss his butt for a few thousand years.
So, the point of all this rambling is to provide some perspective for this answer: No, there hasn’t been a “metaphysical theory” that has been proven. But there is some intriguing and compelling evidence to support the likelihood of some level of consciousness that exists mostly, but not completely, outside of human physical perception.
When it was not understood, all science was metaphysical. One could argue that the very pursuit of physical reality is itself the pursuit of metaphysics. Each time in the past when we thought we understood everything, something new was discovered which opened a whole new path of pursuit. Physical reality may be like an infinitely layered onion whose layers we peel off one at a time. Each time we peel off a layer we come closer to this ultimate reality without ever fully reaching or completely understanding it. Today ,physicists call this ultimate theory of nature that would explain everything “The Theory of Everything”. Many believe it is close to becoming a reality. Only time will tell, if this theory will open up into a brand new path of pursuit or if it will unite all the 4 known forces of nature into a single force and explain the creation of all matter, energy and the space- time field on which we all play.
Eg. Heat, light, magnetism, atoms, gravity … these and much more were all considered metaphysical before they were understood. Metaphysics is just beyond our past, present and future understanding of how our world works or an impenetrable barrier. I don’t believe in impenetrable barriers. Do you?
Well, first of all the idea of metaphysics is that it does not fit with current, accepted physics.
Once it has been discovered and understood it ceases to be meta-physics.
The same is true of SUPER-natural. When it is understood to be part of nature, it ceases to be beyond nature.
The earth being round; the earth traveling around the sun; the sky not being a sphere, etc, were once all metaphysical concepts.
I could list a bunch of ideas about the universe that have some evidence but are not currently accepted theory.