Can you imagine a different physical property that is doesn't exist in our current physical universe
Or is it possible for different physical properties to exist? Perhaps in a different dimension?
By physical property I mean any physical phenomenon such as light, colours, movements, senses, hearing, smell... etc.
I personally can't, but I like to believe that it is possible. It's just that we are so confined in this physical universe and evolved in the set conditions of this planet that we are not programmed to concieve other physical realities. We can see because light made us see, we can hear because the radio waves made us hear and we can feel because the outside world made us feel. But we cannot X because X did not exist in our planet, therefore did not contribute to our physical being in order for us to sense X. Perhaps, something in the lines of dark matter or dark energy. We cannot percieve them because they were not part of these set conditions that moulded us.
What is your opinion?
By physical property I mean any physical phenomenon such as light, colours, movements, senses, hearing, smell... etc.
I personally can't, but I like to believe that it is possible. It's just that we are so confined in this physical universe and evolved in the set conditions of this planet that we are not programmed to concieve other physical realities. We can see because light made us see, we can hear because the radio waves made us hear and we can feel because the outside world made us feel. But we cannot X because X did not exist in our planet, therefore did not contribute to our physical being in order for us to sense X. Perhaps, something in the lines of dark matter or dark energy. We cannot percieve them because they were not part of these set conditions that moulded us.
What is your opinion?
Comments (7)
How do we know about the strong or weak nuclear force?
Flip this property/theory relationship, and you can readily imagine physical properties that do not exist even in principle. One end of a scientific theory is an abstract construct - the other end is supposed to be anchored in reality. Lift that anchor and use your imagination freely to construct a theory that does not seek to model anything in reality. Chances are, this theory will have nonexistent physical properties built into it.
Not the same sort of thing.
Take for instance Red. It's physical meaning is defined in terms of optical wavelength, not in terms of a sensory impression, and we cannot give an exhaustive description of the context that is necessary such that an application of optical red always produces a "red" sensory impression. Furthermore, the theoretical meaning of "optical wavelength" is holistic, given that it is a property whose meaning and experimental determination rests upon the understanding and application of the rest of physics. Physical red therefore cannot be given a phenomenal definition.
We use our sensory impressions as estimators of our use of physical terms, but they aren't the definitions of our physical terms. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget that our use of physical terms is ultimately determined by the totality of our sensory impressions. So we aren't justified in jumping from semantic holism to physical realism.