Sabine Hossenfelder and the crisis of modern physics

Abstract

The book of one of the currently most famous female physicists, Sabine Hossenfelder, Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray, is a reason for discussing the crisis in which modern physics has fallen, as well as new tendencies in physics as possible ways to overcome the situation. Part of the responsibility for decades of stagnation in the development of physics is borne by certain aspects of the heritage of ancient, specifically Pythagorean-Platonic philosophy, which have found their place in modern science. The critical insights presented by Hossenfelder are very well founded. However, the author can be criticized for overlooking some ways of thought in physics that represent a strong alternative to aesthetic theoretical approaches, mostly inspired by ancient Greek natural philosophy. For example, physicist Fritjof Capra?s book The Tao of Physics points to numerous parallels between Eastern systems of thought and 20th century physics.