The Philosophy of Physics, with Elise Crull

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What happens when physics meets the big questions of philosophy? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with Elise Crull, philosopher of physics at CUNY and author of The Einstein Paradox, to explore physics, philosophy, and how thought experiments shape real science.

Why did 20th-century physicists like Einstein, Schrödinger, and Bohr disagree about what quantum mechanics even means? Why did Einstein insist that physics needed deeper explanations, and how did philosophical thinking guide his breakthroughs? Was he really doing physics—or philosophy? And what does it mean to “do” science when the evidence runs thin?

From Newton’s Principia to quantum entanglement, we explore how physics and philosophy were once deeply intertwined—and why that relationship matters now more than ever. Why did physics and philosophy split in the first place? What do we lose when science becomes only experimental and utilitarian? Is there still room in modern physics for “why” questions? Plus, we debate whether scientists can truly leave their worldview at the lab door?

How did Newton and Einstein’s philosophies differ? We explore philosophical differences between great scientists and how it yielded different results. What philosophical leap helped Schrödinger and others imagine the electron as a wave? We break down if today’s physicists still need philosophy to address unanswered quantum questions. What does “entanglement” really mean? Could echoes of the early universe’s quantum state still be hiding in the cosmos? If science is a method, who decides which questions matter? And what happens when the data runs out… but the questions remain?

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: Elise Crull
01:50 - The Einstein Paradox
03:44 - What’s Philosophy’s Role in Physics?
8:29 - Philosophy at the Edge of Science
12:17 - Training Scientist with Deep Questions
19:00 - Being Biased By Beliefs in Science
28:05 - Philosophies of Einstein & Newton
35:40 - Questions of Quantum Physics
46:50 - A Cosmic Perspective

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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