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STS PhD student speaks at Downing College, Cambridge
3 March 2022
Ryan Francis, current PhD student at STS, delivers talk on "Solving the Problem of ‘The Underdetermination of Values’ for Non-Empirical Theories in Physics"
On Wednesday, 2nd March 2022, Ryan Francis delivered a talk at the Middle Combination Room (MCR) Seminar Night held at Downing College, University of Cambridge.
Ryan is a current PhD student in STS, whose research is based on philosophy of theoretical physics. His talk at the MCR Seminar Night was titled Solving the Problem of ‘The Underdetermination of Values’ for Non-Empirical Theories in Physics, looking at the intense conflict over the scientific status of non-empirical theories that has persisted for decades, showing no sign of meaningful rapprochment.
Modern science is synonymous with experimental testing. The most successful theories in science have acquired their canonical status through extensive experimentation, resulting in the accumulation of vast amounts of corroborating empirical evidence.
Throughout history, whenever a hypothesis was proposed, scientists often had the technological capabilities to test it: a theory’s “fate” (whether it was true or false) would be determined within years or decades of its articulation. Exemplars include classical mechanics, electromagnetic theory, and heredity theory. The situation in physics today is considerably different.
Recently, non-empirical (untestable) theories such as string theory and loop quantum gravity have emerged to assume a central role within physics. These theories cannot be tested within any sensible time frame, and will remain beyond experimentation, permanently. Some academics equate non-empirical theories to almost God-like “theories of everything”; other academics reduce them to meaningless metaphysical nonsense.
Ryan's project combines non-empirical epistemology and a novel Bayesian algorithm to overcome this deadlock. Ultimately, all untestable theories will be robustly assessed a priori, then presented and ranked on a probabilistic spectrum spanning the least to the most viable descriptions of physical reality.
The Downing MCR is used by postgraduate students at Downing College, University of Cambridge. With around 500 members, the MCR is a multi-disciplinary, culturally diverse and international community, closely integrated into the academic and social life of the College. Its committee represents postgraduate students’ views and organises social events.
You can watch Ryan's talk below: