Some Unifying Themes

I list here a series of questions which can be asked at various times during the course, even when the immediate topics may be significantly different. The persistence of some philosophical questions over the course of history constitutes a significant theme of this course.

• Why does math work (Wigner)? Is it the "natural language" of science (Galileo)? To what extent should we expect mathematical constructs to represent real objects?
• Newton/Leibniz and Bohr/Einstein. How are differences of interpretation resolved?
• How do we decide what is real?
• How much can we know?
• What is the relation between physics and cosmology?
• What is intuition? How much should we trust it? (Kant's geometry)
• Is all knowledge empirical? Is logic empirical?
• Is our methodology arbitrary? Might other methods yield other results?
• What are the philosophical implications of the connection between science and technology (eg, telescope)?
• Is science progressive and/or cumulative?
• To what extent is causation a meaningful idea?
• Is there a distinction between analytic and synthetic knowledge (Kant vs Hume)?