Progress, Promise and Pursuit-Worthiness: Philosophical Lessons from the String Theory Debates

Kristian Camilleri (University of Melbourne)

Abstract: String theory is at present the most extensively developed approach for resolving one of the fundamental problems, if not the fundamental problem, of theoretical physics – the formulation of a coherent theory of quantum gravity. Yet physicists remain deeply divided in their evaluations of theory, and have engaged in, sometimes heated, debates about its relative merits and prospects as a viable research program, and even its status as a science. The aim of this paper is to examine why physicists have drawn such divergent and conflicting assessments of theory, particularly with respect to its progress, promise and pursuit-worthiness. The debates over string theory are particularly instructive from a philosophical point of view, precisely because they offer important insights into epistemic and heuristic appraisal, the criterion of problem-solving, and axiological disagreement, which have been the subject of much disagreement among philosophers of science since the 1970s.