Professors and researchers at ASU’s Beyond Center are diving into profound questions in both science and philosophy, including cosmology, astrobiology and the fate of humanity.
The Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science brings together scholars from the science and philosophy disciplines to explore foundational questions. Paul Davies, a professor in the Department of Physics and director of the center, said the team addresses concepts including how the universe formed, life emerged and complex systems developed.
“The sort of things that we might look at is asking very deep questions,” Davies said. “Where do the laws of physics come from? And why are they mathematical? And how is it that humans have evolved to understand the world around them? And what is the logical foundation of existence?”
The center also hosts workshops and public lectures, inviting scholars from around the world and engaging students and professors through discussions on a range of topics. The center will hold its Beyond Annual Lecture on March 31 with Peter Turchin, an expert on social and economic collapse, to discuss the current state of the world and model potential futures.
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Davies said the center is expanding its scope to explore growing scientific and societal interests, including AI, the origin of life and the future of humanity.
These topics reflect a growing “third frontier” of science focused on complexity, where physics, biology and computing intersect, Davies said. He said the center’s newer lectures and programs aim to examine not only fundamental physics, but also the questions shaping society’s future.
“The Beyond Annual Lecture this year is the first that we have ever attempted anything which we might call as the sort of social or political or economic dimension,” Davies said. “For the first time, we are saying, ‘Well, we cannot ignore the mathematical and philosophical and scientific basis for understanding humanity and its future.'”
Maulik Parikh, a professor in the department of physics, said historically, physics and philosophy were closely connected. He added that the field of science was known as “natural philosophy” and said physicists still have questions that overlap with philosophy, including the nature of space, time and existence.
“The nature of time … what does it mean to tackle that?” Parikh said. “It’s kind of remarkable that something so elementary and essential is not really well understood in physics and, in fact, some of the different theories of physics are even contradictory.”
The center allows researchers to explore ideas that extend beyond traditional scientific boundaries and bring attention to those topics. Parikh said he appreciates that experts can confront big questions without having to tailor them to grants or specific research interests.
“It’s a forum for sweeping ideas,” Parikh said. “They don’t always work, but that’s the nature of this kind of discussion.”
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Ben Phillips, a professor at the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, said physics provides a mathematical description of the universe, but those descriptions do not fully explain reality on their own.
He added that philosophical thinking helps students understand the broader meaning behind the scientific discoveries and their place in the universe.
“If you want to be a really good scientist, like a responsible scientist who weighs evidence very carefully and is very concerned about what science can and cannot explain and what a good scientific explanation consists of, you just have to adopt these philosophical perspectives,” Phillips said.
Davies said students are encouraged to attend the center’s public events, which can give them the opportunity to engage with ideas beyond the classroom. He said the center encourages thinkers not to get stuck in the “technical weeds,” and to rather address the philosophy within a question.
“You don’t want to say, ‘Well, I believe deep down that the world has to be like this, and so I will try to shoehorn the theoretical physics or biology or whatever you’re doing to fit my blinkered worldview,'” Davies said. “Don’t do that. You take the science for what it is, and you draw conclusions, not the other way around.”
Edited by Kate Gore, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at ngmohta@asu.edu.
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Nikhil Mohta is a sophomore studying B.S. in Finance and is currently a Business Community Leader for the W.P. Carey School of business. He is also an active member in various clubs on campus like PIERA.