The interplay between physics and philosophy in undergraduate education

Abstract

Many friends, who read physics and philosophy at university, often recount a popular question asked of them, when colleagues learn about their academic background, “How are physics and philosophy linked? Are they not, of themselves, intellectual silos?” Physics, as the most fundamental of the sciences, is concerned with understanding the nature of reality. Philosophy, as the most rigorous of the arts, is concerned with understanding our knowledge of this reality. Casual pub conversations with university friends indicate that many may be sceptical about whether there can be significant interplay between the two bodies of knowledge, let alone how there can be connections between physics and philosophy as part of undergraduate education. (Abstract taken from first paragraph of document)