Rant about brute facts, or, no it isn't "just that way"
Brute fact: a terminus of a series of explanations which is not itself further explicable
There are brute facts with respect to any given scientific theory; those in which it is grounded, and in terms of which it explains other facts, which thereby cease to be brute facts.
To assume that any particular facts (known physical constants for example) are "brute" in a general sense amounts to an abandoning of the scientific project. It's like putting up a sign that says "stop questioning here". It's ugly and stupid.
I do think that reality is fundamentally mysterious but I don't think there is or must be a point where we just can't find out anything more. This has always been with me: if you love something, rip its guts out and see how it works. Long live science.
Addendum: it is equally stupid to think that everything should be explicable right now, or that it is a respectable move to default to superstitions like God or psychic powers when we find ourselves unable to explain something. The world is wild. Be bewildered by it.
There are brute facts with respect to any given scientific theory; those in which it is grounded, and in terms of which it explains other facts, which thereby cease to be brute facts.
To assume that any particular facts (known physical constants for example) are "brute" in a general sense amounts to an abandoning of the scientific project. It's like putting up a sign that says "stop questioning here". It's ugly and stupid.
I do think that reality is fundamentally mysterious but I don't think there is or must be a point where we just can't find out anything more. This has always been with me: if you love something, rip its guts out and see how it works. Long live science.
Addendum: it is equally stupid to think that everything should be explicable right now, or that it is a respectable move to default to superstitions like God or psychic powers when we find ourselves unable to explain something. The world is wild. Be bewildered by it.