Jalloh, Mahmoud (2025) Maxwell, Peirce, and Planck: The Quest for Absolute Measurement and Absolute Reality. [Preprint]

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Abstract

People are often interested in physics due to its purported objectivity. It aims to truly be a study of nature (φύσεις) in itself. On the other hand, physics is a human construct, a language we use to describe the world as we experience it. In our quest for absolute reality, then, it seems that we must rid our description of the world of all subjectivity. This lecture concerns part of a story of such an attempt: the quest for absolute measurement. We will consider physical and philosophical aspects of the attempts of Maxwell, Peirce, and Planck to rid our language of physical measurement of undue subjectivity. This will shed some light on the possibility of knowing absolute reality---and the possibility of communication with aliens.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Jalloh, Mahmoud mahmoudtimbojalloh@gmail.com 0000-0001-8511-9294
Additional Information:	A lecture given at St. John's College.
Keywords:	measurement, reality, realism, metrology, physics,
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Depositing User:	Mahmoud Jalloh
Date Deposited:	27 Jun 2025 14:24
Last Modified:	27 Jun 2025 14:24
Item ID:	25830
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Date:	25 June 2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25830

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