Posted by AG on February 03, 2004 at 08:24:20
In Reply to: Re: Bell's Theorum posted by Miguel on January 31, 2004 at 10:58:22:
OK, as this relates to the Uncertainty Principle.
My brother, a theoretical physicist, basically says you can't take the implications of the Uncertainty Principle (based on Bell's Theorum, I would guess) and apply it to other fields.
What I say is this: the Uncertainty Principle has implications for epistemology (study or theory of the origin, nature, methods, and limits of knowledge).
Epistemology (or any branch of philosophy for that matter) does not depend on statistical methods, and therefore, Bell's Theorum is somewhat irrelevant. Epistemology does not say, because X is true, it can be generalized to Y. It says, if X is true, it has implications for the definition of knowledge.
If the Uncertainty Principle provides us with legitimate knowledge (conclusions) about the measurement of light, then one should be able to analyze those conclusions for how we define the nature, methods and limits of knowledge.