Edward Feser
[A lecture delivered at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Maritain Association at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA on March 21, 2026] Microphysics is the branch of physics that studies molecules, atoms, and elementary particles. Two facts about it are especially noteworthy from the point of view of the theory of knowledge. The first is the astounding amount we have come to learn about this part of reality, despite our having no direct perceptual access to it. The second is that progress has slowed considerably in recent decades, at least in the opinion of many physicists. Among these is Sabine Hossenfelder, who argues that the source of the problem is that contemporary research in fundamental physics is dominated by mathematical constructs that are nearly impossible to test empirically and embraced instead for largely aesthetic reasons.[1] Similar criticisms have been raised by Roger Penrose, Lee Smolin, Peter Woit and others.[2] What I will argue is that both th