Mathematics Precedes Physics
Editorial verification status: this atom is extracted from a clarifying audio-visual source, and has now been linked to the closest books within Shahrur’s project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.
Formulation of the claim
Shahrur sees mathematics as preceding physics in terms of epistemic structure, because an equation may be formulated first and only later is its physical referent discovered.
Explanation
He supports this by noting that mathematicians construct abstract formulas whose usefulness may not be understood at the time they appear, and then physics comes to reveal what those formulas describe. In this way, he makes mathematics a world of signifiers, and physics a world of signifieds. The idea here is that knowledge does not always begin with the tangible; it may begin instead with the abstract symbol. He thus deepens the proposition that thought precedes matter in the domain of science.
Its place in the episode’s argument
This atom is a practical example of his philosophical thesis: meaning precedes embodiment.
Limits of the claim
This does not mean that all mathematics always reveals a physical reality.
Brief witness
“The signified precedes the signifier in the science of mathematics.”
Nearby links
- Shahrur - The Qur’an in Contemporary Thought
- Shahrur - The Mother of the Book and Its Elaboration
- Shahrur - The Decisive Text