The art of science: interview with Professor John Archibald Wheeler

TL;DR

This paper presents an interview with Professor John Archibald Wheeler from 1976, discussing his views on physics, cosmology, and the relationship between science, philosophy, and art, published posthumously to preserve his insights.

Contribution

It provides a rare, historical primary source of Wheeler's perspectives on fundamental physics and philosophy, published in English for the first time after his death.

Findings

Wheeler's insights on black holes and cosmology.

Historical perspective on physics and philosophy.

Reflections on science and art relationships.

Abstract

During the conference on the methods of differential geometry in physics in Warsaw in June 1976, Professor Wheeler gave an interview for the Czechoslovak Journal of Physics A. After Professor Wheeler authorized the English version in January 1977, the Czech translation was published in \v{C}eskoslovensk\'y \v{c}asopis pro fyziku A (1978) and soon afterwards the Polish translation appeared in Postepy fizyky. After John Wheeler's recent death it occurred to me that it would now be appropriate to publish the original interview from 1976 so that it would not be lost to English readers; and so, despite being more than 30 years old, the interview appeared in the special issue on quantum gravity of "General Relativity and Gravitation" dedicated to the memory of J. A. Wheeler. John Wheeler would now surely add more about black holes in nuclei of galaxies, not mentioning just Cygnus X-1, when discussing cosmology he would undoubtedly address the problem of dark energy etc. However, in the conversation about Einstein and Bohr, about the need for choosing appropriate names, or about the relation of science and philosophy and art, he would probably give answers as he did more than 30 years ago.