Cosmology and Hilbert's sixth problem

Abstract

There have been tantalizing indications from many quarters of physical cosmology that we are living in the multiverse – a huge set of cosmological domains (“universes”). What is the structure of this larger whole is an entirely open problem on the interface between physics and metaphysics. A goal of the present paper is to draw attention to the connection between this problem and an old and celebrated puzzle in mathematical physics. Among the unresolved problems David Hilbert posed in 1900 as a challenge for the dawning century, none is more philosophically controversial than the Sixth Problem, requiring the axiomatization of physical theories. In the new century and the new millennium, this problem has remained a challenge, usually swept under the rug as “not belonging to mathematics” (as if that impacts its epistemical status) or simply “unresolved”. Recent radical ontological/cosmological hypothesis of Max Tegmark, identifying mathematical and physical structures, might shed some new light onto this allegedly antiquated subject: it might be the case that the problem has already been solved, insofar we have formalized mathematical structures! While this can be seen as “cutting the Gordian knot” rather than patiently resolving the issue, we suggest that there are several advantages to taking Tegmark’s solution seriously, notably in the domain of (future) physics of the observer.