When Einstein’s 16 year old daughter died, he was asked how he can ‘handle’ such a thing. Einstein’s response was:
“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”
.
“A human being is part of the whole” is the correct statement. No man is an island. Absolute individuality does not exist. Search for individuality will only end up in the prison of a lonely ego.
“Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”
Physics and metaphysics come together for the person who is free from this prison. .
Reality is the direct perception of what is. Reality does not arise from agreement. What arises from agreement is deepening of assumptions.
If a number of people believe that the earth is flat, then they are simply sharing an assumption, which is not part of reality. Shared assumption leads to illusion. When pushed too far, illusions become unreality.
Physical reality is concrete. It may be extended through abstraction. For example, the basic dimensions of physical space are correctly visualized at right angles to each other. This geometrical interpretation is concrete and it limits the basic dimensions of space to three.
However, an abstract interpretation of basic dimensions is that no basic dimension has a component along another basic dimension. This is true for the physical dimensions of space. But, per this interpretation the dimensions of the space may be extended beyond three. We are free to explore additional dimensions that may be abstract, but which are consistent with the physical reality.
The concrete dimensions are perceived by our physical senses of the eye, ear, touch, smell and taste. Abstract dimensions are not perceived by the physical senses, instead they are perceived by the mind.
Abstraction is unreal when it is not consistent with physical reality. Such is the case with String Theory, which has not been shown to be consistent with physical reality. But the abstraction postulated by the theory of relativity is real to the degree it is found to be consistent with the the physical reality.
Any abstraction that is not consistent with physical reality would have the character of assumption, or unproven conjecture at best. It would become real when found to be consistent with the physical reality.
