9.9 Fundamental scientific disciplines
There is also a correlation between fundamental scientific disciplines and Perception Spheres’s manifestations:
Chemistry is the most relational discipline among the four scientific disciplines. The relations between two chemical substances can produce a new form of matter or an explosion. The basis of chemistry is the periodic table arranged according to the mutual relations of known chemical elements.
The basis of biology is Darwin’s general theory of natural selection describing the evolution of living species and qualities or values causing their appearance, development and disappearance. The main value is the survival of the fittest.
Physics looks for laws and principles that rule the motion and energy processes in Nature. Physics’ aim is to most accurately explain the workings of basic natural forces.
Mathematics is like commodities. Commodities serve the basic needs and all further economic development in a way similar to the way mathematics serves basic scientific needs and further scientific development. Mathematics and commodities seem to exist by itself. As if they both are just to be discovered and used, not to be invented.
General theories tend to be influenced by value preferences of their proponents. Different values breed conflicts of different opinions or different reasons used to explain some issue. The conflicts between creationists’ and evolutionists’ convictions regarding the causes of life’s development were even brought to US court of justice. We can hardly imagine that the advocates of Newton’s laws of physics would sue promoters of Einstein’s theories. Theory of relativity is not an opinion but physically verifiable confirmation of an autonomous principle. Einstein’s finding that the speed of light is absolute turned out to be better (corresponding more to reality) organizational principle for Physics than Newton’s presumption that time and space are absolute. It is symptomatic that Einstein’s autonomous theory was originated by a “crazy” autonomous question “What would happen if I traveled with the ray of light?” i.e. the question that had no support in any observed or observable phenomenon. Nonetheless the observation of concrete events proved the validity of his theory.
On the other hand Einstein himself did not believe mathematicians deducing that the universe was expanding and kept teaching his theory of static cosmos even 2 years after it has been physically refuted by findings of E. Hubble.
Note:
For more on the theme of origins of theories see the blog post
“The Useful Scaffold: How Invalid Premises Help to Find Valid Laws”