Ontological Enigmas: What is the True Nature of Reality?

Abstract

Observed from a distance, the edifice of science appears impressive—a robust and coherent body of knowledge. However, tiny cracks become visible if one looks closer. Unexpectedly, and drastically, these cracks become chasms. The whole monumental structure of knowledge falls apart like a house of cards. These fault-lines appear as soon as one inquires about the true nature of reality. Space, time, and matter emerge as alien concepts, incomprehensible to the mind. Of the many open questions in physics, perhaps the most pressing deficiency can be attributed to quantum field theory. Specifically, what it has to say about the vacuum. Then, the most obvious shortcoming is the incompatibility of quantum theory and general relativity. No testable theory of quantum gravity exists. String/M-theory and loop quantum gravity may be elegant and powerful mathematical frameworks, but their relationship to reality is dubious. Moreover, our universe, accommodating life and consciousnesses, appears as the result of delicate fine-tuning at many levels. Inexplicably, nearly the entire energy-matter content of the universe is unknown to us. But most astonishingly, the fundamental quantum level of reality, discovered by chance, tells us outlandish stories about the nature of the universe. All our cherished intuitions about reality are under attack: determinism, causality, and an objective and mind-independent world. Indeed, at the core of reality, a bizarre, holistic structural connectivity appears to emerge. To tackle these enigmas, physicists have conjured up fantastic ontologies: higher-dimensional space-time or the multiverse, in which our universe is just one instance out of an infinitude. Other physicists have resorted to mysticism. By analyzing the actual ontology of reality, one is forced to ask the following questions. Does matter exists? Is time an illusion? Tentative answers suggest: no and yes.