Wolfgang Smith

J. Wolfgang Smith
Born 1930 (age 85–86)
Era 20th-century philosophy
Region Western philosophy
School Realism, Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Neo-Scholasticism, Traditionalism
Main interests
 Metaphysics, Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy of science
Notable ideas
 Completely splitting the scientific method from the scientistic philosophy; showing how the former can be joined to a thomistic-based ontological realism; assigning to many hard sciences a place in such an ontological hierarchy.

Wolfgang Smith (born 1930) is a mathematician, physicist, philosopher of science, metaphysician, Roman Catholic and member of the Traditionalist School. He has written extensively in the field of differential geometry, as a critic of scientism and as a proponent of a new interpretation of quantum mechanics that draws heavily from medieval ontology and realism.

Biography

Smith graduated in 1948 from Cornell University with a B.A. in Philosophy, Physics and Mathematics. Two years later he obtained his M.S. in Physics from Purdue University and, some time later, a Ph.D in Mathematics from Columbia University.

He worked as a physicist in Bell Aircraft corporation, researching aerodynamics and the problem of atmospheric reentry. He was a mathematics professor at MIT, UCLA and Oregon State University, doing research in the field of differential geometry and publishing in academic journals such as the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Journal of Mathematics, and others. He retired from academic life in 1992.

In parallel with his academic duties, he developed and still develops philosophical inquiries in the fields of Metaphysics and Philosophy of science, publishing in specialized journals such as The Thomist and Sophia: The Journal of Traditional Studies.

Philosophy

Smith is a member of the Traditionalist School of Metaphysics, having contributed extensively to its criticism of modernity while exploring the philosophical underpinnings of the scientific method and emphasizing the idea of bringing science back into the Aristotelian framework of traditional ontological realism.

Identifying with Alfred North Whitehead's criticism of Scientism's "bifurcationism" and "physical reductionism", i.e., the belief that, first, the qualitative properties of the objects of perception (the "corporeal objects") are ultimately distinct from their respective quantitative properties (the "physical objects" studied by the different sciences); and second, that the physical objects are "in fact" all there is, meaning the corporeal objects are reduced to their physical counterparts, Smith examines critically in his work Cosmos and Transcendence (1984) the Cartesian roots of modern physical sciences.

Proceeding from his critique of Scientism, in his The Quantum Enigma (1995) Smith poses the questions of whether the scientific method is actually dependent on the Scientistic philosophy and, if it isn't, whether linking it to other philosophical frameworks would provide better solutions to the way we interpret physical phenomena. Demonstrating that in no case either the scientific method or its results depend upon or require adhering to a scientistic metaphysics, he answers in the positive to the first question, with the end result that it's possible to link the scientific method to any underlying metaphysics, or to none at all. Working then into the second question, he proposes linking the scientific method, thus the modern sciences, to a non-bifurcationist, non-reductionist metaphysics in the form of a modified thomistic ontology, showing how such a move can provide a positive outcome by solving the apparent incoherences perceived in Quantum Mechanics' phenomena.

According to Smith, such an interpretation of quantum mechanics allows for the usage of the hylomorphic concepts of act and potential to properly understand Quantum superpositions. For example, instead of considering that a photon is simultaneously a wave and a particle, or a particle in two distinct position, and other counterintuitive constructs, one would consider that the photon (or any other "physical object") at first doesn't exist "in act", but only "in potency", i.e., as "matter" in the hylomorphic meaning of the word, having the potential of becoming a wave, or a particle, or of being here or there etc. Whether one of these outcomes will happen to this undifferentiated matter is dependent on the determination imposed upon it by the macroscopic "corporeal object" that provides to it its actualization. A photon, thus, would be no more strange for having many potentials than, say, an individual who has the "superimposed" potentials of learning French and/or Spanish and/or Greek, all the while reading and/or walking and/or stretching his arms etc. And a further consequence of such an interpretation would be a corporeal and its related physical objects aren't dichotomized or reduced one to the other anymore, but quite the opposite, they all together constitute a whole of which different aspects are dealt with depending on perspective.

Smith's understanding of the relationship between corporeal and physical objects extend to his interpretation of biology, where he has become an opponent of Darwinian evolution, as the fundamental element in a species would be its form, not its causal history, which evolutionists favor. This leads him to be a supporter of the intelligent design movement, even though the hylomorphic approach itself isn't widely adopted by the mainstream intelligent designers, who also favor causal history, even though differently from evolutionists.

Smith has also taken a stance towards a relativistic rehabilitation of geocentrism. It is important however to note that Smith is not supporting Ptolemaic or medieval geocentrism as such, or asserting that heliocentrism is absolutely false. Rather he argues that according to the theory of relativity, both Heliocentrism and Geocentrism have merit from a scientific viewpoint, since any (scientific) observations depend on the reference of frame of the observer and any observation made from Earth (and any Near-Earth satellites) are virtually geocentric in that respect.[1][2]

Bibliography

Books

Books written by Wolfgang Smith or including his contributions:

Wolfgang Smith. (1984). Cosmos and Transcendence: Breaking Through the Barrier of Scientistic Belief. Peru, IL: Sherwood Sugden and Company. ISBN 0-89385-028-4. OCLC 12945771. 
Wolfgang Smith. (1988). Teilhardism and the New Religion: A Thorough Analysis of the Teachings of Pierre Teilhard De Chardin. Rockford, IL: TAN Books & Publishers. ISBN 0-89555-315-5. OCLC 19648994. 
Wolfgang Smith. (1995). The Quantum Enigma: Finding the Hidden Key. Peru, IL: Sherwood Sugden and Company. ISBN 0-89385-042-X. OCLC 33200608. 
Wolfgang Smith. (2003). The Wisdom of Ancient Cosmology: Contemporary Science in Light of Tradition. Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies. ISBN 0-9629984-7-8. OCLC 54398541. 
Mehrdad M. Zarandi (ed.), ed. (2004). "The Plague of Scientistic Belief". Science and the Myth of Progress. The Perennial Philosophy Series. Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom. ISBN 0-941532-47-X. OCLC 52165739. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
Harry Oldmeadow (ed.), ed. (2005). "'Progress' in Retrospect". The Betrayal of Tradition: Essays on the Spiritual Crisis of Modernity. The Perennial Philosophy Series. Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom. ISBN 0-941532-55-0. OCLC 56599559. 

French translation : - Wolfgang Smith, Sagesse de la cosmologie ancienne : Les cosmologies Traditionnelles face à la science contemporaine, French translation by Jean-Claude Perret and Pierre-Marie Sigaud, with careful reading of by Michel Bénot, Kostas Mavrakis and Jean Borella ; Collection "Théôria", Editions de L'Harmattan, Paris, 2008.

Articles

General

Articles on philosophy, religion, physics and non-mathematical subjects in general:

"From Schrödinger's Cat to Thomistic Ontology". The Thomist (Washington, DC: The Dominican Province of Saint Joseph) 63 (1): 49–63. January 1999. ISSN 0040-6325. OCLC 1645845. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
"Celestial Corporeality". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 5 (1). Summer 1999. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"The plague of scientistic belief". Homiletic and Pastoral Review (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press). April 2000. ISSN 0018-4268. OCLC 5739991. Archived from the original on 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
"The Extrapolated Universe". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 6 (1). Summer 2000. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Eddington and the Primacy of the Corporeal". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 6 (2). Winter 2000. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Science and Myth: the Hidden Connection" (PDF). Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 7 (1). Summer 2001. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"The Pitfall of Astrophysical Cosmology". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 7 (2). Winter 2001. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Esoterism and Cosmology: From Ptolemy to Dante and Cusanus". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 8 (1). Summer 2002. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Modern Science and Guénonian Critique". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 9 (2). Winter 2003. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"The Enigma of Visual Perception". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 10 (1). Summer 2004. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Neurons and Mind". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 10 (2). Winter 2004. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Review of Journeys East, by Harry Oldmeadow". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 11 (1). Summer 2005. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Rama P. Coomaraswamy 1929–2006: In Memoriam". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 12 (2). Fall–Winter 2006. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Cosmology in the Face of Gnosis". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 12 (2). Fall–Winter 2006. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"Transcending the creatio ex nihilo: The Kabbalistic Exegesis". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 13 (1). Spring–Summer 2007. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 
"The Wisdom of Christian Kabbalah". Sophia: the Journal of Traditional Studies (Oakton, VA: The Foundation for Traditional Studies) 13 (2). Winter 2007–2008. ISSN 1521-1231. OCLC 39708929. 

Mathematics

Academic articles on mathematics signed as "J. Wolfgang Smith":

Smith, J. Wolfgang (June 1959). "On Integration of Quasi-Linear Parabolic Equations By Explicit Difference Methods". Transactions of the American Mathematical Society (fee required) (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society) 91 (3): 425–443. doi:10.2307/1993257. JSTOR 1993257. OCLC 1480369. 
Wolfgang Smith, J (January 15, 1960). "Fundamental Groups on a Lorentz Manifold" (fee required). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC: United States National Academy of Sciences) 46 (1): 111–114. Bibcode:1960PNAS...46..111S. doi:10.1073/pnas.46.1.111. OCLC 43473694. 
Smith, J. Wolfgang (May 1960). "Lorentz Structures on the Plane". Transactions of the American Mathematical Society (fee required) (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society) 95 (2): 226–237. doi:10.2307/1993288. JSTOR 1993288. OCLC 1480369. 
Smith, J. Wolfgang (October 1960). "Fundamental Groups on a Lorentz Manifold". American Journal of Mathematics (Reprint, fee required) (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press) 82 (4): 873–890. doi:10.2307/2372946. JSTOR 2372946. OCLC 31863589. 
Clifton, Yeaton H; Clifton, Yeaton H. (February 15, 1961). "The Category of Topological Objects" (fee required). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC: United States National Academy of Sciences) 47 (2): 190–195. Bibcode:1961PNAS...47..190C. doi:10.1073/pnas.47.2.190. OCLC 43473694. [3]
Clifton, Yeaton H.; Clifton, Yeaton H. (December 1962). "Topological Objects and Sheaves". Transactions of the American Mathematical Society (fee required) (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society) 105 (3): 436–452. doi:10.2307/1993730. JSTOR 1993730. OCLC 1480369. [3]
Clifton, Yeaton H; Clifton, Yeaton H. (November 15, 1963). "The Euler Class as an Obstruction in the Theory of Foliations" (fee required). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC: United States National Academy of Sciences) 50 (5): 949–954. Bibcode:1963PNAS...50..949C. doi:10.1073/pnas.50.5.949. OCLC 43473694. PMC 221954. PMID 16591128. [3]
Smith, J. Wolfgang (1966). "The de Rham theorem for general spaces" (PDF, fee required). Tohoku Mathematical Journal (2nd Series) (Sendai, Japan: Maruzen Co.) 18 (2): 115–137. doi:10.2748/tmj/1178243443. MR 0202154. OCLC 1642556. Zbl 0146.19402. 
Smith, J. Wolfgang (1968). "An exact sequence for submersions" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society) 74 (2): 233–237. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1968-11899-3. MR 0221512. OCLC 4672985. 
Smith, J. Wolfgang (1969). "Commuting vectorfields on open manifolds" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society) 75 (5): 1013–1017. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1969-12343-8. MR 0248867. OCLC 4672985. Zbl 0179.52002. 
"A homology spectral sequence for submersions" (PDF). Pacific Journal of Mathematics (Berkeley, CA: Pacific Journal of Mathematics) 89 (2): 279–299. 1980. doi:10.2140/pjm.1980.89.279. ISSN 0030-8730. MR 599121. OCLC 1761678. Zbl 0472.55015. [4]
"Fiber homology and orientability of maps" (PDF). Pacific Journal of Mathematics (Berkeley, CA: Pacific Journal of Mathematics) 89 (2): 453–470. 1980. doi:10.2140/pjm.1980.89.453. ISSN 0030-8730. MR 599133. OCLC 1761678. Zbl 0467.55019. 

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.sacredweb.com/journals/sw9.html "The Status of Geocentrism by Wolfgang Smith": "Arguing that Tychonian geocentrism and Einsteinian acentrism are reconciled based on their different darshanas, Dr. Smith surveys the empirical evidence in favor of geocentrism and of heliocentrism, and makes out the case for geocentrism based on a science of relativistic physics that accords with traditional doctrine."
  2. ↑ The Wisdom of Ancient Cosmology: Contemporary Science in Light of Tradition, chapter VIII
  3. 1 2 3 With Yeaton H. Clifton.
  4. ↑ With Patrick C. Endicott.

References

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2005-01-06). "A Review Essay of Wolfgang Smith's The Quantum Enigma: Finding the Hidden Key". Islamic Resources. Living Islam. Archived from the original on 2008-04-25.  External link in |publisher=, |work= (help)
Wallace, William A. (January 1997). The Modeling of Nature: Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Nature in Synthesis. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 0-8132-0860-2. OCLC 34284430. 
Wallace, William A. (July 1997). "Thomism and the Quantum Enigma". The Thomist (Washington, DC: The Dominican Province of Saint Joseph) 61 (3): 455–468. ISSN 0040-6325. OCLC 1645845. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
"An Interview with Wolfgang Smith on Science and Philosophy". The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Light of Jacques Maritain. Inner Explorations. Archived from the original on 2008-04-25.  External link in |publisher=, |work= (help)
"Wolfgang Smith: Life and Work". World Wisdom. Archived from the original on 2008-04-25. 
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