Paul Davies - Where do the laws of physics come from?

Posted by Olly Robinson on 28 November 2008 | 0 Comments

Tags: Physics

Paul Davies is a truly independent thinking scientist and philosopher. He defies all conventional categories, but seems to follow clear thinking wherever it leads. This talk deals with some fundamental questions that open up a chasm of assumptoins that generally lie invisible beneath the edifice of science. Where do the laws of physics come from? Why are 'mechanism' and 'machine' as metaphors for the universe considered to be appropriate? Why is there mathematical order underlying the universe? Why does the universe seem to be so amenable to rational enquiry? Why is there not just a jumble of unrelated phenomena? Can we deal with ultimate questions of meaning without recourse to faith? Do we all have faith of some variety? What is an 'ultimate explanation' of the universe?

Davies manages to deal with deep and complex issues without using technical jargon that precludes non-specialists from listening and understanding his message. This is a great talent, and is another reason that I hugely respect him.

Part 1