Demolishing prejudices to get to the foundations: a criterion of demarcation for fundamentality

Abstract

In this paper, we reject commonly accepted views on fundamentality in science, either based on bottom-up construction or top-down reduction to isolate the alleged fundamental entities. We do not introduce any new scientific methodology, but rather describe the current scientific methodology and show how it entails an inherent search for foundations of science. This is achieved by phrasing (minimal sets of) metaphysical assumptions into falsifiable statements and define as fundamental those that survive empirical tests. The ones that are falsified are rejected, and the corresponding philosophical concept is demolished as a prejudice. Furthermore, we show the application of this criterion in concrete examples of the search for fundamentality in quantum physics and biophysics.

arXiv commentEssay originally prepared for the FQXi Essay contest 2018, "What if fundamental?". Accepted for publication in "Foundations of Science" after major revision. 14 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Bell nonlocality
• Significant-loophole-free test of Bell's theorem with entangled photons
• Quantum correlations with no causal order
• Experimental non-classicality of an indivisible quantum system
• Two-way communication with a single quantum particle
• Experimental two-way communication with one photon
• The origins of the research on the foundations of quantum mechanics (and other critical activities) in italy during the 1970s