Bas van Fraassen: Why Science Does Not Reveal the Truth

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 131 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Professor Bas van Fraassen argues science doesn't deliver literal truth, so unobservable physics is a model. The self isn't a thing, logic permits free will, and he maintains faith in God without metaphysics. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - Reality vs. Appearance - 08:40 - Scientific Realism vs. Anti-Realism - 16:30 - The "No Miracles" Argument - 22:26 - Common Sense Realism - 27:54 - Trusting Instruments vs. Theories - 34:22 - Kierkegaard's Call to Decision - 41:50 - Determinism is a Model - 48:50 - Sartre on Free Will - 56:47 - Causation Doesn't Exist in Physics - 01:05:47 - Language of Human Action - 01:15:54 - Tarski's Limitative Theorems - 01:23:50 - "I Am Not a Thing" - 01:34:20 - Rejecting Analytic Metaphysics - 01:40:17 - Does God Exist? - 01:50:50 - Disagreement on Monty Hall - 01:56:15 - Conversion to Catholicism LINKS MENTIONED: - The Scientific Image: https://amzn.to/499SA72 - Bas's Blog: https://basvanfraassensblog.home.blog/about-me-2/ - The Empirical Stance: https://amzn.to/3MWbKEK - Bas's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EBj6wCAAAAAJ&hl=en - Bas's Books: https://amzn.to/3L0njdw - Reality Is Not What It Seems: https://amzn.to/3YseMDe - Matthew Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM - The "No Miracles" Argument: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-realism/#MiraArgu - Bas On Closer To Truth: https://youtu.be/nQnQ9ndlYi4 - The Most Terrifying Philosopher [TOE]: https://youtu.be/BWYxRM__TBU - Curt Reads Plato's Cave [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PurNlwnxwfY - Avshalom Elitzur [TOE]: https://youtu.be/pWRAaimQT1E - Formal Philosophy: https://archive.org/details/formalphilosophy00mont/page/n5/mode/2up - Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8 - Time And Chance: https://amzn.to/4qb6tru - Aaron Schurger [TOE]: https://youtu.be/yDDgDSmfS6Q - Nancy Cartwright's Work: https://www.profnancycartwright.com/publications/books/ - Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss - Elan Barenholtz & Will Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ca_RbPXraDE - Einstein, Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies: https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/Einstein_graduate/pdfs/Einstein_STR_1905_English.pdf - Putnam's 'Twin Earth': https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam#ref1204773 - Yang-Hui He [TOE]: https://youtu.be/spIquD_mBFk - The Nonexistent Knight: https://amzn.to/3XWxfrs - Wolfgang Smith [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vp18_L_y_30 - Tyson Doesn't Understand "Belief": https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/i-dont-use-the-word-belief-and-scientific - The Monty Hall Problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem - Daniel Dennett [TOE]: https://youtu.be/bH553zzjQlI - Michael Dummett: https://iep.utm.edu/michael-dummett/ - How To Define Theoretical Terms: https://www.princeton.edu/~hhalvors/teaching/phi520_f2012/lewis-theoretical-terms.pdf - The Model-Theoretic Argument: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism-sem-challenge/model-theory-completeness.html - Remembering Hilary Putnam: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/remembering-hilary-putnam-harvard-philosopher-and-religious-jew - Hilary Lawson: https://www.hilarylawson.com/biography/ - Language Isn't Just Low Resolution: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/language-isnt-just-low-resolution Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm not a thing. I'm not a thing of any kind. I'm not a physical thing. I'm not an abstract thing.
0:05.9	I'm not something supernatural. I'm not a thing, period.
0:11.8	Professor Boss von Frazen's 1980 book, The Scientific Image, detonated a bomb in the philosophy of science that's still reverberating to this day. The professor argues
0:22.8	that science doesn't aim to give us true theories about unobservable reality. Science just aims
0:28.8	for empirical adequacy, full stop. So all of this truth about quarks, way functions, space-time
0:35.1	curvature, it's all just superrogatory. Optional. Not the goal.
0:40.5	Today, we turn to the self and the limits of language. Von Frazen draws on Tarski's
0:45.6	limited of theorems and demonstrates that we can't construct a true representation of our own language,
0:51.3	and therefore we can't adequately represent ourselves. It's logically
0:56.4	impossible. My name's Kurt Jaimungle, and on this channel, I interview researchers about their
1:01.5	theories of reality with rigor and technical depth. Most of the time is from a theoretical physics
1:06.2	perspective, but today I have one of the legends in contemporary philosophy, one of the most cited philosophers
1:12.3	in the philosophy of science, Professor Boss von Frazen.
1:16.1	Questions explore today are what is real, what is science, where does free will enter,
1:21.5	what am I slash who are you, even faith and what is God?
1:27.3	Many people have a concept of quote-unquote reality, and so do many philosophers. you, even faith and what is God.
1:31.6	Many people have a concept of quote unquote reality, and so do many philosophers.
1:36.0	What is that concept, and why do you think the question of what is reality is not such a great question?
1:39.1	Well, I would say, logically speaking, everything is real.
1:44.1	But we can make a distinction between reality
1:46.9	and appearance. You know, like Carlo Rovelli's book with the title, Reality is Not What It Looks
1:53.2	Like, I think, something like that. Reality is not what it appears. We can make a distinction
	...

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