Great Expectations Language That Was Neutral with Respect to Hansprimas the Distinction Between Physical and Psychological Phenomena

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new conceptual language between the physical and archetypal domains, a Great expectations language that was neutral with respect to HansPrimas the distinction between physical and psychological phenomena. He conjectured that the alchemistic attempt to create a Beyond the Atom: The Philosophical Thought of Wolfgang Paull. By K.V. Laurikainen. unitary psychophysical language failed Springer-Verlag: 1988. Pp. 234. Pbk DM68, £22.50, $29. merely because it dealt with a visible reality, and he hoped that the same WoLFGANG Pauli (1900-1958) was a alchemical viewpoint. Quaternity is taken programme, referring instead to a deeper revolutionary genius, a most critical to be an expression of all concepts of invisible reality, could be successful. That theoretical physicist with profound insight, unbroken totality, both in psychology and is , Pauli was striving for nothing less than a and a deep thinker. He was an infant in physics. The "quaternarian attitude" coherent and unified conception of the prodigy - at the age of 18 he was in full (an expression often used by Pauli in his world, in which natural science would be possession of the mathematical and letters) is not easy for a classical scientist just a part, and which would allow an physical knowledge enabling him to do to grasp. Pauli and Jung discussed the understanding of matter and psyche as original research on general relativity. At conjecture that the statistical method of complementary aspects of the same reality 21- still a student- he published in the natural science could be in a comple - a reality containing both rational and Encyklopiidie der mathematischen Wissen mentary relationship to synchronicity, in irrational elements. Because the logical schaften his masterly review article on the sense that any statistical description structure of complementarity has become relativity theory, which was greatly excludes synchronistic phenomena. They transparent within the mathematical admired by Einstein himself. Later he proposed that the triad of energy, space formalism of quantum mechanics, it is not became renowned for his fundamental time and causality should be comple so extraordinary that it is just theoretical work and brilliant reviews on quantum mented by the synchronicity factor to physicists who have recognized the road mechanics and quantum field theory. arrive at a "quaternio", which stands for sign and have taken up the investigation of Pauli has been called "the living con the unity of being. complementary relationships outside science of theoretical physics", "der fiirch In order to express this idea of an natural science. terliche Pauli" and "god's whip" because unbroken unity, Pauli was looking for a According to Laurikainen, the Pauli- he attacked every half-truth with pitiless severity. But his criticism was always sound and came to be relied upon. In Pauli's view, there was no basis for the type of unified field theory pursued by Einstein. But in spite of this and other deep epistemological disagreements, the old Einstein held Pauli in high esteem and called him his spiritual son. Although Pauli is recognized as one of the leading theoretical physicists of the twentieth century, his long-standing philosophical efforts and penetrating jungian studies are less well known. Only a few of his published articles deal with epistemological problems- the technical papers are remarkably free of philosophi cal comments. But this state of affairs gives an entirely misleading impression of Pauli's wide range of philosophical and historical interests, and his far-reaching commitment to jungian thought. Pro fessor Laurikainen's Beyond the Atom in the main a translation of his Finnish book Atomien Tuolla Puolen of 1985 - will, one hopes, change things. The book is based on the extensive but yet unpub lished correspondence between Pauli and Markus Fierz, Pauli's former postdoctoral assistant (1936-1940) who at the time was professor of theoretical physics in Baste. Pauli took up the psychophysical problem by studying the connection between the complex psychology of Carl Gustav Jung and modern physics. In particular, he investigated the archetypal background of physical concepts, and published a remarkable case study on the genesis of scientific theories in the light of the historical controversy between the trinitarian point of departure of Kepler's astronomy and Fludd's quaternarian Wolfgang Pau11- "striving tor notnmg less than a coherent and un1t1ed concept1on ot the world".

Fierz letters are the best source for the I have one further reservation, also study of Pauli's philosophical views. In his minor. Laurikainen has tried to make The star worm book, he lets Pauli speak for himself in Pauli's philosophy understandable to an Paul Sternberg long quotations from the correspondence, average academic reader, not only to unfortunately without Fierz's answers. scientists. Even for the committed reader Laurikainen's selection of material and his it is at present the only generally accessible The Nematode Caenorhabditis e/egans. Edited by William B. Wood and the Com analysis of it unavoidably reflect his own source of Pauli's philosophical corres munity of C. elegans Researchers. Cold tastes and inclinations, but these limita pondence; it is indeed an excellent guide Spring Harbor Laboratory: 1988. Pp .667. tions cannot lessen my regard for his to his views and gives a good first impres $94. well-thought-out presentation. The most sion of the exchange of ideas with Fierz. important message of the book is that if we But an essay of this nature can never be take Pauli's view seriously, we have tore totally adequate. A full appreciation of IN 1963 , Sydney Brenner wrote in a pro evaluate fundamental questions in natural Pauli's visions requires a substantial posal to the Medical Research Council: science and ponder about the repression knowledge of quantum mechanics, of the Part of the success of molecular genetics was of the irrational in West history of ideas and of due to the use of extremely simple organisms ern culture. ••The most important archetypal psychology. I which could be handled in large numbers: With respect to some message of the book is suspect that most theor bacteria and bacterial viruses .... We should details, I found myself that if we take Pauli's etical physicists, psycho like to attack the problem of cellular develop repeatedly disagreeing view seriously, we have to logists and philosophers ment in a similar fashion, choosing the simplest with Laurikainen. For re-evaluate fundamental who would like to grasp possible differentiated organism and subjecting tunately, this disagree Pauli's ideas stand in it to the analytical methods of microbial questions in natural genetics. ment is mainly about science and ponder about need of much more help questions of present the repression of the than they get here. Even Brenner not only chose the nematode day quantum mechanics, Pauli looked for a help Caenorhabditis elegans as the organism, which was not an issue in irrational in Western ing hand- in an unpub but encouraged a generation of scientists the Pauli-Fierz corres culture." lished letter (not quoted to join him ; hence, 25 years on, the publi pondence. Laurikainen believes that Pauli by Laurikainen), he expressed his disap cation of this first-rate monograph which would not have agreed with modern foun pointment about the lack of scientific reviews the work of some 400 scientists. dational research on quantum theory and education of lung's circle, and his hope Besides summarizing the basics of C. the current attempts to generalize quantum of finding a discussion partner with pro elegans biology, the book presents in theory and to apply it to the meso- and found psychological insight and a good digestible form the main accomplishments macroscopic domain. To my mind it is knowledge of mathematics and the -determination of the complete cell line wrong to pass such a judgement on the natural sciences. So what we urgently age and of the 'wiring diagram' of the 302- basis of the Pauli-Fierz letters. need is a complete edition of Pauli's celled nervous system, and the collection In the correspondence, Pauli argued philosophical correspondence with explan of a genetically mapped set of ordered that the general trend of Western culture atory notes written by various qualified recombinant DNA clones (a genomic map) after the seventeenth century has been scholars. which is now over 60 per cent complete. dangerously one-sided. He considered the Moreover, there is much more pertinent These projects have been carried out by cartesian separation of spirit (res cogitans) material in the archives. A wealth of and large at the MRC Laboratory of and matter (res extensa) to be miscon supplementary information can be found Molecular Biology, Mecca for C. e/egans ceived and preferred a vision where spirit in Pauli's correspondence with Carl researchers. What then of the unlucky and matter are considered as two comple Gustav Jung, Marie-Louise von Franz and faithful who are unable to make the mentary aspects of reality. Pauli was Aniela Jaffe, preserved at the ETH in pilgrimage but who nonetheless want to looking for radically new ideas which went Zurich. There are also related, unpublished participate now that the stage is set for a far beyond the limits of quantum theory. manuscripts by Pauli - such as Die variety of fundamental studies of develop According to him, the possibility of free Vorlesung an die fremden Leute, or his mental, neuro- and molecular biology? By choice of the experimental set-up implies important Hintergrundsphysik (which is reading the book, one can learn much that observations acquire the character of not lost, contrary to Laurikainen's suspi 'worm lore', as well as gain a sense of the the irrational, unique actuality. But he cion) - and there is further correspon excitement in the field. also stressed that "the psychic state of the dence, such as that with Heisenberg in the A scientist starting work on C. elegans a observer enters the laws of nature of 1950s. Unfortunately, not all of the decade ago would have had only a handful quantum mechanics no more than those of curators of these papers have allowed of publications to read; now one would classical physics", and that "the old them to be published. It would be an confront a staggering number of impor question whether the psychic state of the intellectual disgrace if the legal heirs of the tant papers as well as a vast amount of observer possibly may influence the Pauli estate are allowed to suppress his unpublished data. In these days of chasing external material evolution of Nature, has visions and dreams (which in Pauli's problems across diverse phyla, research no place in contemporary physics". We own judgement unquestionably have an ers often have to grapple unaided with the have to acknowledge that there is a lacuna objective content), and publish only intricacies of a novel experimental system. in the reasonings of present-day physics. those letters that are 'relevant' to the Here is help for such people. For example, Pauli tried to open up new paths, but his history of physics, or that correspond with the often arcane details of the C. elegans programme was very ambitious and prevailing scientific fashions. I hope field (unc, Dpy , B.alapaav, HSN and so remains rather vague, so we cannot that the appearance of Laurikainen's on) are made accessible to anyone who implement it in our current theoretical ground-breaking and thought-provoking wants to get to grips with them. The framework. As Pauli himself wrote, the book will encourage the publication uniformly high quality of the chapters and problem is that we must not thereby of a complete and annotated edition the extensive cross-referencing not only sacrifice the positive values of the trini of all Pauli's letters and manuscripts in reflect careful editing, but the cooperative tarian attitude. I think that Laurikainen the near future. 0 effort of the authors and editor. A great sometimes misconstrues Pauli's vision of a Hans Primas is a Professor in the Laboratorium deal of information is presented, how unitary theory as being a comment on fur Physikalische Chemie, ETH, CH-8092 ever, and some work on the part of the present-day quantum mechanics. Zurich, Switzerland. reader is still required. 306 NATURE · VOL 338 · 23 MARCH 1989 © 1989 Nature Publishing Group