The Return of Metaphysics in the Theory of Subjective Pregnances ^†

In his work on what he called “Semiophysics” at the time (1988), René Thom introduced the cognitive viewpoint into physics by trying to develop a science of meaning on the line of his “catastrophe theory” which was essentially a theory of physical morphogenesis. The basic intention was to reconcile modern mathematics and physics with the traditional conception of natural philosophy. The recent developments in quantum physics and their philosophical interpretations lead back to this basic idea. It is thus shown how the formalized language of mathematics cannot only be combined with spatio-temporal aspects of the physical world, but can also serve the definitory precision of concepts such as matter and information, respectively.