Well, I would recomment to start with Plato and other ancient philosophers only if you intend to study HISTORY OF PHYSICS or PHILOSOPHY.

To study PHYSICS itself, I would start with algebra and math analythis (calculus), then would move to mechanics, to conservation laws and symmetries, then to relativity (symmetry of motion). Then I would study newtonian gravitation and then general relativity. Then - move to quantum mechanics, and from there to electrodynamics.

[After that - to the particular branch of interest (solid state, plasma, particle physics, cosmology, quantum chemistry, biophysics, etc) if you want to make physics your profession. (To feel and understand physics better, it helps to do some research in physics or to teach physics or both).]

This way you will have a coherent "big picture" of how things are related to each other.

Of course, it is possible to go over some places in learning physics with algebraic background, but then there will be important missing "white spots" (in symmetries, GR, QM, QED) and the "big picture" will be rather blurry, or may not even be seen at all.

• Re: Physics and philosophy. - blnelsonusa - February 22, 2001 - 03:45 UTC
  • the student - dwhollrah - February 22, 2001 - 04:41 UTC
    • In quest for "absolute truth" - alexander - February 22, 2001 - 22:36 UTC
      • Re: In quest for - yanniru - February 23, 2001 - 00:20 UTC
        • Ultimate truth or yet another new method? - alexander - February 23, 2001 - 05:26 UTC