Nicolas Gisin：Naturalistic Intuitionism for Physics

Speaker: Nicolas Gisin

Venue: 4-311, Chengjun Court

Abstract: Physics is traditionally formulated using timeless, axiomatic mathematics, making it challenging to incorporate indeterminism or the concept of creative time into physical theories. An alternative approach, based on intuitionistic mathematics—rooted in time-evolving processes—offers a perspective more aligned with our experience of physical reality. Nearly a century ago, Brouwer, the father of intuitionism, introduced such processes as “choice sequences”. However, Brouwer conceived these evolving sequences as generated by a creating subject, an idealistic notion that is quite foreign to physics. In contrast, we propose a naturalistic interpretation of intuitionism, where choice sequences evolve through a form of creating time. This perspective brings intuitionistic mathematics closer to the frameworks used by physicists, bridging the gap between mathematical formalism and the dynamic nature of physical reality.