How John Wheeler lost his faith in the law

TL;DR

This paper explores John Wheeler's shift from faith in physical laws to skepticism due to gravitational collapse, detailing his efforts to develop a new worldview influenced by quantum mechanics and other disciplines.

Contribution

It analyzes Wheeler's philosophical transformation and his attempts to rethink the laws of physics in light of gravitational collapse and quantum insights.

Findings

Wheeler questioned the universality of physical laws after black hole predictions.

He sought alternative perspectives inspired by quantum mechanics and biology.

The paper highlights Wheeler's philosophical evolution and its impact on physics.

Abstract

In 1972, at a symposium celebrating the 70th birthday of Paul Dirac, John Wheeler proclaimed that "the framework falls down for everything that one has ever called a law of physics". Responsible for this "breakage [...] among the laws of physics" was the general theory of relativity, more specifically its prediction of massive stars gravitationally collapsing to "black holes", a term Wheeler himself had made popular some years earlier. In our paper, we investigate how Wheeler reached the conclusion that gravitational collapse calls into question the lawfulness of physics and how, subsequently, he tried to develop a new worldview, rethinking in his own way the lessons of quantum mechanics as well as drawing inspiration from other disciplines, not least biology.