We generally assume that the objects around us exist independently of us and of other objects. We can observe a glass as a well-defined object and investigate its chemical or physical properties in the lab.
We can even predict its behaviour at any point in time as long as we know all the external factors acting on it. Science encounters a reality made up of clearly delineated objects: a reality that can be measured by scientific instruments and ultimately even be controlled. From the steam engine to the light bulb, many examples of scientific progress are based on this notion, all condensed by classical physics into verifiable laws of nature such as Newtonian mechanics, electrodynamics and thermodynamics. The realm of classical physics is ruled
by determinism.
Source: “The whole is the truth”, Zurich ETH News
