Is There Beauty in Physics?

Abstract

Given how often physicists talk about beauty, the author tries to understand what they are talking about, what they mean, and whether or not there is any truth to what they are saying. The main questions he addresses are: When discussing the nature and beauty of physics, are we doing physics, science, psychology, or philosophy? And, does the meaning of the physicists’ acclamations actually line up with the true nature of beauty? The author concludes that there can be truth in the statement that there is beauty in physics, and the physicists themselves would be able to say most authoritatively which theories are beautiful and which are not.

Keywords

• thomism
• physics
• science
• beauty
• reality
• beautiful
• truth
• nature
• theory
• metaphysics