Are scientific concepts a metaphorical fantasy? | Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor, Peter Atkins...

Hilary Lawson, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor and Peter Atkins discuss whether metaphoric language distract us from scientific truth.

Watch the full debate at https://iai.tv/video/reality-fantasy-and-metaphor?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description

From string theory to the Big Bang, black holes to dark matter, our big scientific theories are increasingly conveyed through metaphor. Yet from Newton to the latest theories, science is largely founded on mathematics.
Should we see scientific metaphors as real descriptions of an underlying universe or are they instead marketing vehicles for sets of mathematical equations? Could Newton have chosen to call forces 'spirits' and Einstein have called fields 'matrices'? And if so would our understanding of reality have been profoundly different? Should we see all scientific concepts as a metaphorical fantasy or are they true descriptions of an underlying reality?

Fellow at the Francis Crick Institute Güneş Taylor, scientist and author Rupert Sheldrake, chemist and author of popular works of science Peter Atkins and post-postmodern philosopher Hilary Lawson debate whether scientific metaphors can be considered real descriptions of an underlying universe. Joanna Kavenna hosts.

#ScientificMetaphors #DescriptionsOfTheWorld #ScientificTruthOrFantasy

Hilary Lawson is a philosopher and award-winning broadcaster who has been hosting IAI TV’s philosophy and global politics debate strands since 2010.

Author of The Science Delusion, Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist whose research led to the theory of morphic resonance and nature's memory. He has also written on altered states of consciousness in Ways To Go Beyond.

Güneş Taylor is a training fellow at the Francis Crick Institute, the London-based biomedical research centre. Güneş has debated the implications of genome editing in forums such as Fertility Fest, the Festival of Genomics, and Virtual Futures, as well as on the Guardian's podcast Science Weekly. In 2018, Güneş was awarded the Crick Public Engagement Prize for her efforts in the public communication of science

Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, Peter Atkins is one of the world's foremost physical chemists, and the author of Galileo's Finger.

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