dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaString Theory - From Physics to Metaphysics
| Authors | Reiner Hedrich |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0604171 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0604171 |
| Journal | Phys.Phil.2006:005,2006 |
Abstract
Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. In spite of the more than thirty years of its existence it did not make any empirically testable predictions. And it is completely unknown which physically interpretable principles could form the basis of string theory. At the moment, "string theory" is no theory at all, but rather a labyrinthic structure of mathematical procedures and intuitions which get their justification from the fact that they, at least formally, reproduce general relativity and the standard model of elementary particle physics as low energy approximations. However, there are now strong indications that string theory does not only reproduce the dynamics and symmetries of our standard model, but a plethora of different scenarios with different low energy nomologies and symmetries. String theory seems to describe not only our world, but an immense landscape of possible worlds. So far, all attempts to find a selection principle which could be motivated intratheoretically remained without success. So, recently the idea that the low energy nomology of our world, and therefore also the observable phenomenology, could be the result of an anthropic selection from a vast arena of nomologically different scenarios entered string theory. Although multiverse scenarios and anthropic selection are not only motivated by string theory, but lead also to a possible explanation for the fine tuning of the universe, they are concepts which transcend the framework defined by the epistemological and methodological rules which conventionally form the basis of physics as an empirical science.
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"abstract": "Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a\nunification of all interactions, including gravity. In spite of the more than\nthirty years of its existence it did not make any empirically testable\npredictions. And it is completely unknown which physically interpretable\nprinciples could form the basis of string theory. At the moment, \"string\ntheory\" is no theory at all, but rather a labyrinthic structure of mathematical\nprocedures and intuitions which get their justification from the fact that\nthey, at least formally, reproduce general relativity and the standard model of\nelementary particle physics as low energy approximations. However, there are\nnow strong indications that string theory does not only reproduce the dynamics\nand symmetries of our standard model, but a plethora of different scenarios\nwith different low energy nomologies and symmetries. String theory seems to\ndescribe not only our world, but an immense landscape of possible worlds. So\nfar, all attempts to find a selection principle which could be motivated\nintratheoretically remained without success. So, recently the idea that the low\nenergy nomology of our world, and therefore also the observable phenomenology,\ncould be the result of an anthropic selection from a vast arena of\nnomologically different scenarios entered string theory. Although multiverse\nscenarios and anthropic selection are not only motivated by string theory, but\nlead also to a possible explanation for the fine tuning of the universe, they\nare concepts which transcend the framework defined by the epistemological and\nmethodological rules which conventionally form the basis of physics as an\nempirical science.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0604171",
"authors": [
"Reiner Hedrich"
],
"categories": [
"physics.hist-ph",
"gr-qc",
"hep-th"
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"journal_ref": "Phys.Phil.2006:005,2006",
"title": "String Theory - From Physics to Metaphysics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0604171"
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