Physics-Based "Objective Reductionism"
The "weak" force may be merely an "aspect" of the electromagnetic force, according to a theory for which Steven Weinberg, Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979. If experiments continue to validate this theory, there will only be three forces: gravity, electroweak and nuclear. It is hoped that someday all forces can be unified into a theory for just one force (which is the goal of GUT, or Grand Unified Theory, as well as "string theory").
Weinberg's readable and thoughtful explanation of "reductionism" is what he terms "objective reductionism" (as described in his book Facing Up). As far as I can tell, my version of reductionism is in 100% conformance with Weinberg's "objective reductionism" - which may be no surprise since we both adopt the physics-centered way of viewing the universe.
Some quotations:
"The more comprehensible the universe becomes the more pointless it seems." Steven Weinberg, Gravitation and Cosmology
"...the necessity of facing up to the discovery that the laws of nature are impersonal, with no hint of a special status for human beings."
"...relying upon this idea that different scientific general;izations explain others, we have a sense of direction in science. Thre are arrows of scientific explanation, which thread through the space of all scientific generalizations. having discovered many of these arrows, we can now look at the pattern that has emerged, and we notice a remarkable thing: perhaps the greatest scientific discover of all. These arrows seem to converge a common source! Start anywhere in science and, like an unpleasant child, keep asking 'Why?' You will eventually get down to the level of the very small." Facing Up: Ascience and Its Cultural Adversaries, Cambridge, Massachussetts: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Related Links:
Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries, Cambridge, Massachussetts: Harvard University Press, 2001
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This site opened: November 28, 1999. Last Update: July 23, 2002