The Epistemological Crisis in Modern Physics

Abstract

In physics today it often happens that experimental data is interpreted as proof of a phenomenon that has not been directly observed, but for which phenomenon there is a theoretical model. With the obtained data acting thereby as proof, the model then becomes recognized as “real,” after which the theoretical phenomenon that the model describes also then becomes recognized as “real” – that is, the heretofore purely theoretical phenomenon is acknowledged as a physical reality, even though it has never been observed, by either instruments or human senses. This relatively new situation, in which unobserved phenomenon come to be treated as if they had been directly observed, has lead modern physics into deep epistemological crisis of which it is not yet aware. The purpose of this article is both to identify the epistemological crisis created by this situation, as well as to present a solution to overcoming this crisis.