The Philosophy Behind Physics

Thomas Brody (1922-1988) was born in Munich and studied in England and Switzerland. He worked as a chemical engineer in Italy and in Mexico and later concentrated on statistical problems in nuclear physics, on probability theory, on artificial intelligence and on simulation and computational methods. In his philosophical work he was concerned to remove the barriers between physics and philosophy by discovering the philosophy implicit in the actual process of scientific research. He developed a theory of "active epistemic cycles" to explain how we come to know about things. This theory does justice to the richness and complexity of scientific research, in contrast to the superficial and bloodless accounts current among philosophers of science who have no real experience of scientific research. He applied his ideas to a wide range of problems in the philosophy of physics, especially quantum mechanics, giving special attention to the Bell inequalities. The publication of his refreshingly-original views was frequently blocked by the establishment, still anaesthetized by the Copenhagen interpretation, and so his work has until now remained relatively unknown. In this thoughtful and wide-ranging book the author spells out many of the basic concepts of the philosophy of physics together with their consequences. Emphasis is given to the experimental side of physics, the process of construction of theories and the elaboration of the ensemble concept of probability. Also treated are the philosophical problems of quantum theory including causality, realism, quantum logic and the meaning of Bell's inequalities. This challenging work will appeal to all open-minded students of science and of its philosophy.