Time&Eternity

Time in the Formulation of Scientific Theory 175
which is represented more adequately by the image of a dance, as we repeatedly
encountered in the world of the hymns in chapter 1.
From depictions such as these, the layperson easily gets the impression
that physics falls apart into diverse theories. Yet this is not the case. A theory
is accepted only when it disposes of or subsumes another or contains it as
a limiting case. In light of this presupposition, the attractive goal of physical
theory formulation is the TOE, the “theory of everything.” The struggles to
unite all forces into one uniform theory continue. The difficulty of linking
deterministic theories, such as the general theory of relativity with the statistical
quantum theory, is obvious.
The direction in which the search for unification goes is dependent
upon a hierarchy of valid theories, as well as upon space and time. It is well
known that in his unification attempts, Einstein mistakenly presumed that
field theory was more fundamental than quantum theory. This decision can
be interpreted as a decision for the priority of space over time. At least Carl
Friedrich von Weizsäcker saw it in this way:
In my opinion, hidden behind [Einstein’s] “objectivism” is the unconscious preliminary
decision of so many physicists that space ontologically precedes time, i.e., that
time is a kind of space, a fourth dimension. Conversely, the decision for the priority
of quantum theory contains, in turn, an unconscious preliminary decision for
the philosophical priority of time, since probability signifies the temporal mode of
futurity. 318
Thus, says von Weizsäcker, quantum theory distinguishes itself at an
important point from Plato’s philosophy. While there is nothing actually
new in the Platonic world, the concept of probability lies at the center of
quantum mechanics. Precisely by this means, it builds upon a time structure
319 and makes possible a renaissance of the Aristotelian notion of possibility.
Thus it has a constructively tense relationship with a theology for
which the primacy of the possible before the real is the major focus. 320
If von Weizsäcker is correct, we are dealing here with a twofold motion:
on the one hand, the “degrading” of absolute time into curved space-time,
and, on the other hand, the quantum-theoretical “elevation” of time,
through which objective statements within the framework of probability
become a function of time. This development is further intensified by “the
primacy of time and change” 321 in chaos theory. A shifting of emphasis,
from the category of law to the category of event, has thus resulted, which,
speaking from a theological perspective, is also of extreme interest. 322
The development of natural scientific theories depicted here also touches
upon the question of truth. The theories of relativity and especially quantum
theory have vigorously shaken the foundations of scientific rigor. Deciding