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SCIENCE STUDIES EVENTS
"BEAUTY DOTH OF ITSELF PERSUADE": MATHEMATICAL BEAUTY
AND THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING
Michael Dickson
Department of Philosophy
University of South Carolina
March 30, 2005
Wednesday, 12:30pm-2:00pm
Sumwalt College, Room 102
In his dissertation, and later in his famous book on quantum theory, Dirac
argued that the equation of motion in quantum theory was, given a few
assumptions, mathematically the only possible one. Dirac seems to have been
very impressed with the argument. However, it turns out to be fallacious,
and I think it is likely that (eventually) Dirac knew, or suspected, it to
be so. Why did he then continue to insist on its importance? I will suggest
that the answer is that he felt it was beautiful, and that beauty was, in
Dirac's view, sufficient reason to think that a piece of mathematical
physics contributes in an important cognitive way to the development and
understanding of science. Finally, I shall compare (rather, contrast)
Dirac's view, which I more or less endorse, with some contemporary views
about mathematical beauty and 'unreasonable effectiveness' that initially
sound similar, notably those of Wigner and Steiner.
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