The Multiverse: An Existential Crisis for Science?

Abstract

This paper is a response to an article by American physicist andprofessor at the Massa­chu­­setts Institute of Technology (MIT) Alan Light­man, titled “The Accidental Universe.” Originally pub­lished in Harper’s Magazine, “The Accidental Universe,” is about the idea of a “multiverse” – a mo­del of reality, in which our known “universe” is only a tiny, and insignificant member of an en­semble of many, perhaps an infinite number of uni­verses. The explored topics in the paper inc­lu­de: the scientific theories that predict such a mul­ti­verse; the inherent obstacles to observing that mul­tiverse in order to establish it as a scientific the­ory; the opposition from some scientists to the recognition of the multiverse as a valid the­o­ry; the implications of its possible acceptance as such for the scientific community, and the various phi­losophical questions, as well as fantastical pos­si­bilities that its existence could entail. Different pos­sibilities and theoretical models are explored, and, finally, a perspective is offered for the near fu­ture in approaching the multiverse both from a scientific standpoint, and as humans in general.