Unity as an Indicator of Theory Choice

While choosing scientific theories scientists often show natural biases, such as regarding unity, identity, simplicity, and novelty as indicators of theory choice. Unity is determined by the heterogeneous conceptual and empirical scope directly involved in theory through a logical intermediary. In physics, the pursuit of unity is one of the unremitting motives for scientific innovation and progress. Maxwell’s Electromagnetic theory unifies electricity, magnetism, and light. Einstein unified not only time and space but also matter and energy. Einstein failed to complete the unified field theory in his lifetime, but his pursuit of unification was not wrong. Quantum mechanics is a theory of describing nuclear forces in mathematical language, which successfully unifies three forces except for gravity. In today’s view, string theory is not generally acceptable to most people, but it has some strong local advantages, so it can be pursued.

Keywords:Unity; Indicator; Theory choice; Rationality