It seems that the study of philosophy ties in quite well with mathematics and physics. Mathematics, at very advanced levels establishes a mind set that is quite peaceful, or so I have been told. There is beauty in numbers and the study of mathematics is also a quest for truth. In CONTACT by Carl Sagan, there is a quote by Nichomachus of Gerassa Aritmetic I, 6 (AD 100)"The universe seems...to have been determined and ordered in accordance with number, by the forethought and the mind of the creator of all things; for the pattern was fixed, like a preliminary sketch, by the domination of number preexistent in the mind of the world-creating God."
I don't think you have to be religious to accept this view. As philosophers, we are always trying to make sense out of life. The function of the study of mathematics or physics is an attempt to constantly search for resolution and understanding.
Some believe that there is a message in the infinite number of pi. I am not sure I understand this, but can definitely understand and accept the concept.
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Over the summer, I got really interested in quantim mechanics and how it relates to general/special reletivity. One of the cool things about these two well-established scientific theories is that they conflict with each other in certain ways. For example, quantum mechanics implies that nothing is determined, but general/special reletivity implies that everything is determined. It's really cool to see this long standing debate in philosophy come alive in the sciences.
By implying that nothing is determined, does quantum mechanics imply that all order dissolves(or could dissolve) to chaos? And maybe Nicomachus' quote states just the opposite. Are they so different that they almost become similar?
I would love to hear a debate about this.
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