“Those who say that science can answer all questions are themselves standing outside science to make that claim. That is why naturalism—the modern version of materialism, seeing reality as defined by what is within reach of the sciences—becomes a metaphysical theory when it strays beyond methodology to talk of what can exist.”
“Denying metaphysics and upholding materialism must itself be a move within metaphysics. It involves standing outside the practice of science and talking of its scope. The assertion that science can explain everything can never come from within science. It is always a statement about science.”
“Tegmark explains the utility of mathematics for describing the physical world as “a natural consequence of the fact that the latter is a mathematical structure, and we’re simply uncovering this bit by bit.”1 However, this is itself a metaphysical statement about the nature of reality, logically preceding the conduct of physics.”
“Jim Baggott, writing about science, makes claims that would seem banal to many scientists. Starting with the observation that “reality is a metaphysical concept, and as such beyond the reach of science,” he points out that “scientific realists assume that reality (and its entities) exist objectively and independently of perception or measurement.”2 He further holds that “reality is rational, predictable and accessible to human reason.” These descriptions can be—and have been—challenged, but the assumptions are crucial to enable science to be practiced. Reality gives science a goal and a purpose. Taking part in the practice of science without any idea of a truth that sometimes lies beyond our grasp is like playing soccer without having any goal to aim at. The game will become pointless, and so will science. Science has to be in the business of discovery. Just because reality includes human beings, it is not centered on them any more than the earth is the center of the universe. It often transcends both actual and possible human knowledge. Even the greatest scientists have seen that the intelligibility of the world is a mystery. The logical independence of physical reality from mind and understanding gives science its point.”
“Once the logical independence of reality from science is accepted, the question is why reality has a character that enables it to be understood scientifically. The intelligibility and intrinsic rationality of reality cannot be taken for granted. Even the greatest scientists, such as Einstein, have seen that the intelligibility of the world is a mystery. He famously remarked that “the eternally incomprehensible thing about the world is its comprehensibility.”4 Like the way in which mathematics seems to map the intrinsic rational structure of the physical world, this is presupposed within science and cannot be given a scientific explanation. It appears to be a metaphysical fact, and the explanation for which, if there can be one, must come from beyond science.”