Thesis: Physics often treats fundamental laws as eternal and immutable, echoing theological conceptions of divine timelessness rather than relationally emergent regularities.
Observation: From Newtonian mechanics to modern quantum field theory, laws are framed as universal and unchanging. Texts and lectures routinely describe them as “timeless truths” or “absolute principles,” with no reference to context, contingent emergence, or perspectival framing.
Analysis: Conceptually, this mirrors theological ideas of divine eternity. The laws are imagined as existing beyond space and time, issuing a kind of cosmic decree. Relational processes are masked; the focus is on immutable rules rather than contingent, perspectival actualisations. This projects a sacred permanence onto the mathematical scaffolding, conflating model with reality.
Implication: By treating laws as eternal, physics risks suppressing the relational and processual nature of reality. Actualisation of potential appears subordinated to pre-existing mandates, obscuring how relational dynamics generate regularities. Theological residue here subtly enforces a universe governed by timeless authority rather than emergent interaction.
Conclusion: A relational reading recasts laws as descriptions of stable patterns arising from process, not as eternal imperatives. Recognising the theological shadow in the conception of eternal laws allows physics to reclaim contingency, relational emergence, and perspectival actualisation.
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