Why is nature mathematical?
Theoretical physics proceeds from the basis that the laws of physics are mathematical. But why should that be the case? Mathematics is, after all, a product of the human intellect, so its extreme success in describing realms such as subatomic particles or cosmology is a mystery. I believe this issue is connected to the wider problems of the nature of physical law, the emergence of life, and teleology. These are as yet only vaguely formulated ideas I am trying to sharpen. Teleology By teleology, philosophers refer to some sort of final causes or goals or evolutionary directionality in the universe. Teleology was more or less eliminated from science following Darwin ‘s lead, but a residue of teleological thinking may yet have explanatory value – at least I am prepared to consider that it might. I have been developing a set of notions I call “teleology without teleology.” I am searching for some sort of law of increasing complexity (i.e. a principle that the universe has a trend towards g
