The Unreasonable Effectiveness Of Mathematics

[.InshAllah.]

(III) God is the best explanation of the applicability of mathematics to the physical world.

 

Philosophers and scientists have puzzled over what physicist Eugene Wigner called “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.” How is it that a mathematical theorist like Peter Higgs can sit down at his desk and, by pouring over mathematical equations, predict the existence of a fundamental particle which, thirty years later, after investing millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours, experimentalists are finally able to detect? Mathematics is the language of nature. But how is this to be explained? If mathematical objects like numbers and mathematical theorems are abstract entities causally isolated from the physical universe, then the applicability of mathematics is, in the words of philosopher of mathematics Mary Leng, “a happy coincidence.” On the other hand, if mathematical objects are just useful fictions, how is it that nature is written in the language of these fictions? The naturalist has no explanation for the uncanny applicability of mathematics to the physical world. By contrast, the theist has a ready explanation: When God created the physical universe He designed it in terms of the mathematical structure which He had in mind.

 

We can summarize this argument as follows:

 

1. If God did not exist, the applicability of mathematics would be just a happy coincidence.

2. The applicability of mathematics is not just a happy coincidence.

3. Therefore, God exists.

 

 

http://philosophynow.org/issues/99/Does_God_Exist

[Grief]

http://philosophynow.org/issues/99/Does_God_Exist

 

(bismillah)

 

(salam)

 

................................ (dy/dx)(e^x)... = ... (e^x)... ?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!?! EXPLAIN THAT ATHIESTS?!?!?

 

:Allahu Akbar

(wasalam)

Edited December 22, 2013 by BuggyLemon

[Ethics]

SubhanAllah, so true. Math, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Thermodynamics, Signals and Systems, Electric Circuits... etc are all proof of Allah's magnitude. Especially when you add man's intellect with these subjects...

[Khadim uz Zahra]

Interesting. I recently read something about math being such an abstract thing, which was the first time I had come across the idea and it certainly made me appreciate it more.

 

Coming back to the topic, however, it probably wouldn't serve as a decisive argument because if one already believes in another cause of creation, probably derived from chance - such as the primordial soup theory or whatever - then you could just as easily argue that it wasn't God who created a world based on mathematical principles but, rather, through chance, among a bazillion other options, our Universe came about, which, coincidentally, is based on math.

 

So, I'd consider this more auxiliary information than a solid argument by itself. The more fundamental question still remains whether you can prove the Creation theory or the chance one.