The dissolution of reality

from classical physics to quantum physics and the fundamental role of probability in social science according to Giorgio Agamben

Abstract

This essay aims to present the philosophical and investigative path followed by Giorgio Agamben regarding the question What is Real? (2016) in the eponymous work. The essay examines the paradigmatic dissolution of reality, from the deterministic perception of classical physics to the probabilistic conception of quantum physics, in light of the analogy proposed by the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana between the statistical laws of physics and the statistical laws of the social sciences, as well as the foundational critiques of Simone Weil on quantum physics. Agamben then establishes his own reflections on the problem of what is real, drawing from Weil’s insights on the intrinsic connection between necessity and probability, which enables decision-making in situations of uncertainty. Agamben further explores probability theory, using the historical example of Pascal’s "interrupted game" to illustrate how probability influences decision-making.