Abstract

String theorists are certain that they are practicing physicists. Yet, some of their recent critics deny this. This paper argues that this conflict is really about who holds authority in making rational judgment in theoretical physics. At bottom, the conflict centers on the question: who is a proper physicist? To illustrate and understand the differing opinions about proper practice and identity, we discuss different appreciations of epistemic virtues and explanation among string theorists and their critics, and how these have been sourced in accounts of Einstein's biography. Just as Einstein is claimed by both sides, historiography offers examples of both successful and unsuccessful non-empirical science. History of science also teaches that times of conflict are often times of innovation, in which novel scholarly identities may come into being. At the same time, since the contributions of Thomas Kuhn historians have developed a critical attitude towards formal attempts and methodological recipes for epistemic demarcation and justification of scientific practice. These are now, however, being considered in the debate on non-empirical physics.

Highlights

  • Theoretical high energy physics is in crisis

  • This paper argues that this conflict is really about who holds authority in making rational judgment in theoretical physics

  • Emphasizing that they represent the consensus point of view, they are “bewildered” by the criticism: inflationary cosmology is not about any one particular model, but a program, a “class of models based on similar principles” that has achieved “impressive empirical success”: some of inflation’s key predictions, such as particular features of the cosmic microwave background radiation, are argued to have been convincingly confirmed

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Summary

Introduction

Theoretical high energy physics is in crisis. Many physicists may wish to deny this, but it is richly illustrated by the heated exchanges, charged manifestos and exclamations of despair in highly visible publications.

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