Physics has inherited two projects from the ancient natural philosophers: one searches for concrete elements, the other for abstract principles. At least since Comte, there is a prevalent, reductionist idea that both the natural world itself and our theories are organized in strata, which match perfectly. By making this assumption explicit, we can investigate it critically and consider an alternative picture: that of physics as a platform game. This enables us to embrace pluralism about theoretical foundations and to reject overly bold claims about what is fundamental in the concrete world.
Sylvia Wenmackers