The Inversion That Is Modern Physics



Classically, we think of atoms and particles of matter connected by space and time and in a context of space and time. In modern physics, this classical view is abandoned, although almost no one, except Whitehead, has fully cognized the fact. In modern physics, we must think of atoms and particles of space and time connected by and in a context of material objects, or what Whitehead called enduring objects. As Whitehead averred, the extensive spacetime continuum is atomized, and within the atoms of space and time are the atomic regions occupied by actual entities. The actual entities in their physical poles are almost on the level of the particles of space and time, called by Whitehead the points and instants, or event-particles. In their mental poles, however, the actual entities occupy atomic regions. So, the mental pole is a kind of aura around the physical pole.

It is operationally obvious that points are connected by rulers or measuring rods, even in Euclidean geometry, but in modern physics we must take that very seriously. It is the enduring objects that provide the connections between the atoms and particles of space and time. The classical world of atoms and particles of matter, connected by and in the context of space and time, still exists conceptually, but it is not truly physical - it is meta-physical and the character of the observer, not the observed reality. The real world, or the quantum world, is comprised of atoms and particles of space and time, connected by and in the context of enduring objects and to some extent eternal objects, as well.