By Astrophysicist Chariton Tomboulidis,

Unlocking the Truth magazine, Issue 3, November 2018

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PHYSICS OR METAPHYSICS? THOUGHTS ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE 21st CENTURY

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When Christmas or Easter holidays come, you see dear people from afar, and you also get the chance to discuss various problems or philosophical questions apart from politics. One evening I was asked a question by a friend, and we spent the rest of the night in a creative discussion about it. The question had two parts: one personal and one general. The personal one was: What is it that has occupied you most recently in modern physics or astrophysics research? And the other, more general question was: Can a physicist speak metaphysically?

Two serious questions which, as I said, gave us a very creative meeting like the ones from the old days. I tried to connect one with the other, because usually unanswered questions generate metaphysical explanations. And in human history, the more research and technology advanced and consequently, knowledge and the explanation of phenomena the more metaphysical explanations gave way to physical ones.

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Is the existence of “dark matter” and “dark energy” in the explanation of the accelerating expansion of the Universe a metaphysical explanation? Einstein introduced almost a century ago a “cosmological constant” to keep the Universe static, and Aristotle introduced a “quintessence” in order to justify the “eternal” Universe almost 2,300 years ago. Aristotle’s quintessence later gave way to the “ether” after 1,800 years of development in the natural sciences. And “ether” then gave way to “spacetime” after another 400 years.

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How long will “spacetime” last?

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In the microcosm, the indestructibility of matter and the “atom” as the smallest structure of matter that preserves the properties of bodies began with Democritus as a philosophical concept and went on to prevail in the sciences for nearly 2,500 years. In the end, the atom was split into electrons, protons, and neutrons, which in turn yielded their place to quarks.

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How long will quarks endure? And will the existence of the Higgs boson help them, or will everything turn into strings?

What is physics and what is metaphysics? Where are the boundaries between the two? Can the neurons of our brain discern what is true and what is false? Are they not also deceived?

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When we cannot explain something, it is good to be open minded. We can call it magic, divine, miracle, hallucination, or anything else depending on the explanation that seems more logical to us or that gives us greater peace or hope but we should never consider it absolute and inexplicable, because the time will come when its real explanation will appear. Thus, I personally do not like the notions of “dark energy” and “dark matter,” which are said to constitute 96% of the Universe. Only 4% is the known Universe, scientists claim today, in order to explain the unexplained. I do not like that either. I do not want to be metaphysical, but even as an astrophysicist I must be cautious.

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Is “spiritualism” perhaps returning to the scientific world? Is it also a product of our era? Many great scientists justify the inability to explain various phenomena by appealing to the limitations of our brain. “Quintessence” is returning in the form of “dark matter” or “dark energy,” and Einstein’s “cosmological constant” returns as a cosmological variable.

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Is this not dangerous for the natural sciences? Will the neurophysiology of the brain prevail as an excuse for the inability to explain physical phenomena? Will we see a flourishing of Neoplatonism? Science, psychology, and religion all have intrinsic value and personal meaning. Each one penetrates into deeper layers of reality which we will never be able to fully understand perhaps because of the limits imposed by our brain. However, it requires great care what we meditate on and with what persistence and stubbornness we defend it, because in the end it may become our PERSONAL truth and not the REAL truth.

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Whether we look through a telescope, or through a microscope, or at a data screen in a laboratory, we admire the beauty and mystery of the Universe and of creation. It is in the nature of our mind to search for their deeper truths. And although we never understand these truths in their entirety, the effort to seek them is our right and our biological heritage not to say our astral heritage as well, since our life is owed to the ashes of earlier stars and our research may be leading us back to our cradle.

We must be careful, however, so that what Demosthenes said about 2,500 years ago does not come true:

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“NOTHING IS EASIER THAN SELF-DECEPTION,
FOR EVERY MAN BELIEVES WHAT HE WISHES TO BE TRUE.”

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Chariton Tomboulidis, astronomer–astrophysicist
tomboulides@gmail.com