Bas van Fraassen: Why Science Doesn't Reveal Reality
Professor Bas van Fraassen argues science doesn't deliver literal truth about reality, meaning unobservable physics is merely a model. He also contends the self isn't a thing and that logic permits free will, ultimately sharing how he maintains faith in God without relying on metaphysics.
As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00 - Reality vs. Appearance
- 08:40 - Scientific Realism vs. Anti-Realism
- 16:30 - The "No Miracles" Argument
- 22:26 - Common Sense Realism
- 27:54 - Trusting Instruments vs. Theories
- 34:22 - Kierkegaard's Call to Decision
- 41:50 - Determinism is a Model
- 48:50 - Sartre on Free Will
- 56:47 - Causation Doesn't Exist in Physics
- 01:05:47 - Language of Human Action
- 01:15:54 - Tarski's Limitative Theorems
- 01:23:50 - "I Am Not a Thing"
- 01:34:20 - Rejecting Analytic Metaphysics
- 01:40:17 - Does God Exist?
- 01:50:50 - Disagreement on Monty Hall
- 01:56:15 - Conversion to Catholicism
LINKS MENTIONED:
- The Scientific Image [Book]: https://amzn.to/499SA72
- Bas's Blog: https://basvanfraassensblog.home.blog/about-me-2/
- The Empirical Stance [Book]: https://amzn.to/3MWbKEK
- Bas's Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EBj6wCAAAAAJ&hl=en
- Bas's Published Books: https://amzn.to/3L0njdw
- Reality Is Not What It Seems [Book]: https://amzn.to/3YseMDe
- Matthew Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM
- The "No Miracles" Argument: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-realism/#MiraArgu
- Bas On Closer To Truth: https://youtu.be/nQnQ9ndlYi4
- The Most Terrifying Philosopher I've Encountered [TOE]: https://youtu.be/BWYxRM__TBU
- Curt Reads Plato's Cave [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PurNlwnxwfY
- Avshalom Elitzur [TOE]: https://youtu.be/pWRAaimQT1E
- Formal Philosophy [Paper]: https://archive.org/details/formalphilosophy00mont/page/n5/mode/2up
- Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8
- Time And Chance [Book]: https://amzn.to/4qb6tru
- Aaron Schurger [TOE]: https://youtu.be/yDDgDSmfS6Q
- Nancy Cartwright's Published Work: https://www.profnancycartwright.com/publications/books/
- Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss
- Elan Barenholtz & Will Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ca_RbPXraDE
- On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies [Paper]: https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/Einstein_graduate/pdfs/Einstein_STR_1905_English.pdf
- The 'Twin Earth' Thought Experiment: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam#ref1204773
- Yang-Hui He [TOE]: https://youtu.be/spIquD_mBFk
- The Nonexistent Knight [Book]: https://amzn.to/3XWxfrs
- Wolfgang Smith [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vp18_L_y_30
- Neil deGrasse Tyson Doesn't Understand What "Belief" Means [Article]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/i-dont-use-the-word-belief-and-scientific
- The Monty Hall Problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem
- Daniel Dennett [TOE]: https://youtu.be/bH553zzjQlI
- Michael Dummett: https://iep.utm.edu/michael-dummett/
- How To Define Theoretical Terms [Paper]: https://www.princeton.edu/~hhalvors/teaching/phi520_f2012/lewis-theoretical-terms.pdf
- The Model-Theoretic Argument: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism-sem-challenge/model-theory-completeness.html
- Remembering Hilary Putnam [Article]: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/remembering-hilary-putnam-harvard-philosopher-and-religious-jew
- Hilary Lawson: https://www.hilarylawson.com/biography/
- Language Isn't Just Low Resolution Communication: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/language-isnt-just-low-resolution
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2:17:09
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2:17:09
ANNOUNCEMENT: Testing the Limits of Gravity w/ Penrose Λ Fuentes
Sir Roger Penrose and Professor Ivette Fuentes analyze the Ron Folman T-cubed experiment and whether the equivalence principle holds in quantum mechanics. They also detail gravity's role in wave function collapse, the existence of gravitons, and cyclic cosmology.
SPONSORS:
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SUPPORT:
- Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe
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JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00:00 - The Ron Folman Experiment
- 00:08:12 - Quantum Equivalence Principle
- 00:15:00 - Gravitational Wavefunction Collapse
- 00:25:14 - Active vs. Passive Gravity
- 00:33:40 - Bose-Einstein Condensate Tests
- 00:44:30 - Do Gravitons Exist?
- 00:56:02 - Evidence Before the Big Bang
- 01:04:11 - Testing Collapse Models
LINKS MENTIONED:
- Ivette’s Website: https://ivettefuentes.weebly.com/
- Ivette’s Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W7-xksIAAAAJ&hl=en
- Roger’s Published Papers: https://inspirehep.net/authors/993859
- Human Test: How Predictability, Creativity, And The Quantum Mind Will Redefine Life In The Age Of AI [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Human-Test-Predictability-Creativity-Redefine/dp/149308920X
- The Equivalence Principle: https://www.britannica.com/science/equivalence-principle
- Nikita Nekrasov [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PH0CzN5qspI
- Exploring The Unification Of Quantum Theory And General Relativity With A Bose-Einstein Condensate [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1812.04630
- Jacob Barandes & Manolis Kellis [TOE]: https://youtu.be/MTD8xkbiGis
- Observation Of The Quantum Equivalence Principle For Matter-Waves [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.14535
- Claudia de Rham [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ve_Mpd6dGv8
- Markus Aspelmeyer’s Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DH7xfEgAAAAJ&hl=en
- Hendrik Ulbricht Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6d15M50AAAAJ&hl=en
- Ron Folman’s Lecture: https://youtu.be/uVN7zapPtvw
- Ivette’s Solo Interview [TOE]: https://youtu.be/YWbjI-QsH2E
- Roger’s Solo Interview [TOE]: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk
- Cumrun Vafa [TOE]: https://youtu.be/kUHOoMX4Bqw
- Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8
- Jonathan Oppenheim [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6Z_p3viqW1g
- Alexia Lopez’s Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PaPfR4sAAAAJ&hl=en
- Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/ZUp9x44N3uE
- Alexia Lopez’s Lecture: https://youtu.be/-zkGk6EPMC8
- A Big Ring On The Sky [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2402.07591
- The DP Model: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Diosi-Penrose-DP-model-of-gravity-related-wave-function-collapse-a-According-to_fig1_344161033
- Underground Test Of Gravity-Related Wave Function Collapse [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2111.13490
- Curt’s Talk With Roger On IAI: https://youtu.be/VQM0OtxvZ-Y
- Ron Folman’s T Cube Experiment: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1908.03879
- Carlo Rovelli [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hF4SAketEHY
- Fay Dowker [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PgYHEPCLVas
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1:13:30
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1:13:30
Curt Jaimungal: The Most Terrifying Philosopher I’ve Encountered
Curt Jaimungal dives into Kierkegaard’s three stages of life—aesthetic, ethical, and religious — showing how each promises freedom yet traps us in its own way. Through the lens of modern anxiety and constant choice, he explores why the “leap of faith” isn’t blind irrationality but a way of living with authenticity when reason hits its limits.
Sponsors:
- As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe
Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Kierkegaard and Faith
- 03:16 - The Three Stages
- 05:10 - Anti-Helegianism
- 10:52 - Self-Examination and "Knowing Thyself"
Links mentioned:
- The Most Terrifying Philosopher I’ve Encountered: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-most-terrifying-philosopher-ive
- Soren Kierkegaard: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/
- Either/Or [Book]: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.504967/page/n125/mode/2up
- Michael Sugrue On Kierkegaard: https://youtu.be/SMJc9UMzFSE
- Hegelianism: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hegelianism
- Max Tegmark [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-gekVfUAS7c
- Sir Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk
- Curt’s Presentation: https://youtu.be/3_lBPMc6JRY
SUPPORT:
- Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join
- Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9
- Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4
SOCIALS:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries.
#science
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18:01
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18:01
Ivette Fuentes: The Breakthrough We Can Test Right Now
Professor Ivette Fuentes makes impossible physics testable, with verified predictions on the Casimir effect and quantum vacuum. Now she's building a "third way" to quantum gravity, a surprisingly simple model that changes both quantum mechanics and relativity instead of forcing one to dominate the other.
SPONSORS:
- As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe
SUPPORT:
- Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe
- Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9
- Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4
JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00 - A Third Way to Quantum Gravity
- 07:35 - Vacuum-Induced Berry Phase
- 12:30 - Dynamical Casimir Effect
- 19:02 - Stagnation in Physics?
- 29:25 - A Third Way to Unification
- 38:20 - What is Physics?
- 43:43 - What is Entanglement?
- 56:11 - Observer-Dependent Entanglement
- 1:03:20 - Advice for Students
LINKS MENTIONED:
- Ivette’s First Appearance [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cUj2TcZSlZc
- Ivette’s Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W7-xksIAAAAJ&hl=en
- Ivette’s Website: https://ivettefuentes.weebly.com/
- Berry Phase: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/mathematics/berry-phase
- Maria Violaris [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Iya6tYN37ow
- Casimir Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect
- Towards Universal Quantum Computation Through Relativistic Motion [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1311.5619
- SQUID: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID
- Observation Of The Dynamical Casimir Effect In A Superconducting Circuit [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1105.4714
- Generating Multimode Entangled Microwaves With A Superconducting Parametric Cavity [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1709.00083
- Sir Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk
- String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY
- Felix Finster [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fXzO_KAqrh0
- Jonathan Oppenheim [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6Z_p3viqW1g
- Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8
- Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/wrUvtqr4wOs
- Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss
- Bertlemann’s Socks And The Nature Of Reality [Paper]: https://cds.cern.ch/record/142461/files/198009299.pdf
- Perimeter Institute: https://perimeterinstitute.ca/
- Alice Falls Into A Black Hole [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0410172
- Observer Dependent Entanglement [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.2223
- Frederic Schuller [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Bnh-UNrxYZg
- Vacuum Induced Spin-1/2 Berry Phase [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0202128
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1:09:42
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1:09:42
Curt Jaimungal: Can Physics Explain Its Own Laws?
Why do physical laws have their specific form? Host Curt Jaimungal shows this question is a philosophical knot, because any "explanation" must itself stand on a law.
Sponsors:
- As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe
Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Why Physical Laws?
- 05:04 - The Justification Problem
- 12:14 - The Limits of Explanation
Links mentioned:
- Wigner’s Classification: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Wigner+classification
- Noether’s Theorem: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Noether%27s+theorem
- This Is What Energy Actually Is [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hQk9GLZ0Fms
- Do Symmetries “Explain” Conservation Laws? [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2010.10909
- Max Tegmark [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-gekVfUAS7c
- Lee Smolin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/uOKOodQXjhc
- Amanda Gefter [TOE]: https://youtu.be/yABPvDJ6Zgs
- John Norton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M
- Laws of Physics [Eddy Keming Chen]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03484
- What’s Actually Possible: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-unexamined-in-principle
- Eddy Chen & Barry Loewer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/xZnafO__IZ0
- The Package Deal Accounts of Laws and Properties [Paper]: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-020-02765-2
- David Deutsch [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vKeWv-cdWkM
- Elan Barenholtz & Will Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ca_RbPXraDE
- Münchhausen Trilemma [Wikipedia]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchhausen_trilemma
- Jennifer Nagel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/CWZVMZ9Tm7Q
- Law Without Law [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.01826
- Schrodinger Equation: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Schr%C3%B6dinger+equation
- Born Rule: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Born+rule
- Enaction of Qbists [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.04230
- Constructor Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.7439
- The Package Deal Account of Laws and Properties [Paper]: https://sites.rutgers.edu/barry-loewer/wp-content/uploads/sites/195/2020/05/Loewer-2020-The-Package-Deal-Account.pdf
- Jonathan Pageau [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X3co_AA6yec
- The Most Abused Theorem in Math (Godel’s Incompleteness) [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo
SUPPORT:
- Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join
- Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
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SOCIALS:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries.
#science
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Exploring theoretical physics, consciousness, Ai, and God in a technically rigorous manner. If you'd like to support this endeavor, then please visit the Patreon ( https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal ). Thank you for your charitable and kindhearted support. My name's Curt Jaimungal, a Torontonian with a degree in mathematical physics from the University of Toronto and I analyze various Theories of Everything from this analytic perspective, though more and more opening up to alternative approaches. The separating factor of TOE from other podcasts is its focus on depth even at the risk of limiting the audience due to how much detail we delve into subjects. Paralleling the intensity found in academic discourse, we're increasingly embracing a spectrum of unconventional ideas to conduct research during this podcast, rather than merely conveying existing information. Contact toe [at] indiefilmTO [dot] com for business inquiries / sponsorship.