I argue that many different branches of science are reducible to one fundamental one- physics. In this essay, I will use Pasteur’s work to demonstrate that biology and chemistry are reducible to physics - the study of interactions between matter and energy. By reducible, I mean that these sciences (and other hard sciences) can be simplified to the point where they deal with the same fundamental matters as physics.
During the 1700s, chemists engaged in a long-standing debate over what caused fermentation. The presence of yeast was an important (and recognized) factor in fermentations. While the production of beer requires yeast, the production of wine does not. Pasteur researched the correlation between yeast and fermentations. During these …show more content…
Essentially, this means that his work identified chemistry and biology as logically independent studies. As Gale puts it, ‘biology becomes independent of chemistry when the empirical recipes of some technique come to be explained by concept which do not include chemical ones.’ Rather than rely on the chemical structure to explain his findings, he relied on a biology. Essentially, by confirming microorganisms’ presence in chemistry, Pasteur was able to make a link between chemistry and physics, which can be used to reduce chemistry to physics. Microorganisms contain cells, which contain molecules and atoms. Atoms are the fundamentals of physics. Thus, you reduce chemistry to physics. Even with chemical reactions that don’t explicitly involve microorganisms, chemistry is still reducible to physics. Chemistry studies interactions that occur when a form of energy is applied to one or more elements. Elements themselves are made of atoms/matter, and heat is a manipulation of energy. Thus, it follows that the basic concepts of chemistry (matter + energy) are akin to those of physics.
Next, biology is another science that is reducible to physics. Biology is the study of life. Every living thing, as Gale said, consists of cells consisting of elements consisting of atoms, which, as I mentioned earlier, are the fundamentals of physics. Furthermore, every single object, alive or not, is made of matter; the atom is the smallest unit of matter. Thus, it logically follows that if a science involves matter, it can be reduced to atoms, and to physics. Since the atom cannot be reduced, physics is not reducible to another science either (it might be reducible to math, which is not a
During the 1700s, chemists engaged in a long-standing debate over what caused fermentation. The presence of yeast was an important (and recognized) factor in fermentations. While the production of beer requires yeast, the production of wine does not. Pasteur researched the correlation between yeast and fermentations. During these …show more content…
Essentially, this means that his work identified chemistry and biology as logically independent studies. As Gale puts it, ‘biology becomes independent of chemistry when the empirical recipes of some technique come to be explained by concept which do not include chemical ones.’ Rather than rely on the chemical structure to explain his findings, he relied on a biology. Essentially, by confirming microorganisms’ presence in chemistry, Pasteur was able to make a link between chemistry and physics, which can be used to reduce chemistry to physics. Microorganisms contain cells, which contain molecules and atoms. Atoms are the fundamentals of physics. Thus, you reduce chemistry to physics. Even with chemical reactions that don’t explicitly involve microorganisms, chemistry is still reducible to physics. Chemistry studies interactions that occur when a form of energy is applied to one or more elements. Elements themselves are made of atoms/matter, and heat is a manipulation of energy. Thus, it follows that the basic concepts of chemistry (matter + energy) are akin to those of physics.
Next, biology is another science that is reducible to physics. Biology is the study of life. Every living thing, as Gale said, consists of cells consisting of elements consisting of atoms, which, as I mentioned earlier, are the fundamentals of physics. Furthermore, every single object, alive or not, is made of matter; the atom is the smallest unit of matter. Thus, it logically follows that if a science involves matter, it can be reduced to atoms, and to physics. Since the atom cannot be reduced, physics is not reducible to another science either (it might be reducible to math, which is not a