Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough?
The aim of this essay is to look at the idea of the multiverse—not so much from the standpoint of physics or cosmology, but rather from a philosophical perspective. The modern story of the multiverse began with Leibniz. Although he treated “other worlds„ as mere possibi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-05-01
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| Series: | Universe |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/5/5/113 |
| _version_ | 1817988851955662848 |
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| author | Michael Heller |
| author_facet | Michael Heller |
| author_sort | Michael Heller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this essay is to look at the idea of the multiverse—not so much from the standpoint of physics or cosmology, but rather from a philosophical perspective. The modern story of the multiverse began with Leibniz. Although he treated “other worlds„ as mere possibilities, they played an important role in his logic. In a somewhat similar manner, the practice of cosmology presupposes a consideration of an infinite number of universes, each being represented by a solution to Einstein’s equations. This approach prepared the way to the consideration of “other universes„ which actually exist, first as an auxiliary concept in discussing the so-called anthropic principle, and then as real universes, the existence of which were supposed to solve some cosmological conundrums. From the point of view of the philosophy of science, the question is: Could the explanatory power of a multiverse ideology compensate for the relaxation of empirical control over so many directly unobservable entities? It is no surprise that appealing to a possibly infinite number of “other universes„ in order to explain some regularities in our world would seem “too much„ for a self-disciplined philosopher. With no strict empirical control at our disposal, it is logic that must be our guide. Also, what if logic changes from one world to another in the multiverse? Such a possibility is suggested by the category theory. From this point of view, our present concepts of the multiverse are certainly “not enough„. Should this be read as a warning that the learned imagination can lead us too far into the realms of mere possibilities? |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:39:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6b12fe65b0a94573af0753d2c2529824 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-1997 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:39:34Z |
| publishDate | 2019-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Universe |
| spelling | doaj.art-6b12fe65b0a94573af0753d2c25298242022-12-22T02:22:14ZengMDPI AGUniverse2218-19972019-05-015511310.3390/universe5050113universe5050113Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough?Michael Heller0Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies ul. Szczepańska 1/5, 31-011 Cracow, PolandThe aim of this essay is to look at the idea of the multiverse—not so much from the standpoint of physics or cosmology, but rather from a philosophical perspective. The modern story of the multiverse began with Leibniz. Although he treated “other worlds„ as mere possibilities, they played an important role in his logic. In a somewhat similar manner, the practice of cosmology presupposes a consideration of an infinite number of universes, each being represented by a solution to Einstein’s equations. This approach prepared the way to the consideration of “other universes„ which actually exist, first as an auxiliary concept in discussing the so-called anthropic principle, and then as real universes, the existence of which were supposed to solve some cosmological conundrums. From the point of view of the philosophy of science, the question is: Could the explanatory power of a multiverse ideology compensate for the relaxation of empirical control over so many directly unobservable entities? It is no surprise that appealing to a possibly infinite number of “other universes„ in order to explain some regularities in our world would seem “too much„ for a self-disciplined philosopher. With no strict empirical control at our disposal, it is logic that must be our guide. Also, what if logic changes from one world to another in the multiverse? Such a possibility is suggested by the category theory. From this point of view, our present concepts of the multiverse are certainly “not enough„. Should this be read as a warning that the learned imagination can lead us too far into the realms of mere possibilities?https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/5/5/113multiverseLeibnizother worldsmultiverse levels |
| spellingShingle | Michael Heller Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough? Universe multiverse Leibniz other worlds multiverse levels |
| title | Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough? |
| title_full | Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough? |
| title_fullStr | Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough? |
| title_short | Multiverse—Too Much or Not Enough? |
| title_sort | multiverse too much or not enough |
| topic | multiverse Leibniz other worlds multiverse levels |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/5/5/113 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelheller multiversetoomuchornotenough |