[Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker's design of a unity of physics].

Abstract

As I learned in many conversations with Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, he saw his place in the history of science deriving from his "Theory of Urs". This theory will establish the unity of science on the basis of quantum bits. Any attempts to find some "fundamental bricks"--of whatever kind--must fail because of the antinomies of atomism. An abstract quantum bit is a structure quantum that cannot be conceived as a particle in space and time. However, it is clear, solely for logical reasons, that a quantum bit is an ultimate and indecomposable entity. Weizsäcker's revolutionary goal was--already 50 years ago--to unite quantum theory with cosmology and, on these grounds, proceed to a theory of elementary particles. The article gives a short overview of Weizsäcker's approach to the unity of physics, ending with a brief summary of what has been achieved in that endeavour up to now.