The Grand Design, Part III: Is There An Objective Reality?

What Stephen Hawking explores in the third part of The Grand Design is whether there is really an objective reality?

As one of my commenters pointed out in a prior post, '"Hawking makes the argument that we are somewhat like goldfish in a curved fishbowl. Our perceptions are limited and warped by the kind of lenses we see through, “the interpretive structure of our human brains.” Albert Einstein rejected this subjective approach, common to much of quantum mechanics, but did admit that our view of reality is distorted."' Ron Krumpos

Actually, neither Einstein nor Hawking argues that there is no objective reality. What they disagree about is our interpretations of that reality. I think that they both agree that our perceptions are distorted, are warped by the lenses we see through. The role of science is to cut through that noise, to clean out those filters. Since the physical sciences is the study of objective reality, it would be next to impossible to study the physical sciences and believe that all reality is subjective. That would be in the realm of psychology or philosophy (metaphysics). The scientific method is used and studies are done to determine what comprises objective reality. The fact that we can orbit the earth (gravity) or determine the rate of energy (E=MC^2) or stimulate various parts of the brain to cause various types of physical reactions (electrical and chemical processes interacting with synapses) tells us that there is indeed an objective reality. Further, walls and streets do not move just because someone who is blind is walking straight toward them; the subjectivity of the mind may misinterpret or redefine reality, but it cannot change the basic package. So yes, there is an objective reality, which may be open to many interpretations (there is often more than one path to truth), and it is what Hawking (and Einstein) seeks to uncover and understand.

Comments

[Brenda Gaines Hunter]

Edit: What Hawking (and Einstein) is looking for is a unified path to reality.