Abstract
<jats:p>Science seeks to explain truths about reality. But what is truth? How do we know anything? Given human ignorance and fallibility, why trust scientists? A view of knowledge is outlined in the light of recent advances in thermodynamics that highlight the importance of unity by showing (i) a clear physical sense for the idea of a “unitary entity” (that is holistic rather than reductionist), (ii) commensurability between the local and nonlocal (resolving the Loschmidt Paradox), and (iii) the relevance of entropic physics to all scales, from the “quantum mechanical” to the realm of “general relativity”. Integrity is likewise essential to science — whether in theory, individual practice, community standards, or obtaining the public’s trust. As a human endeavour aimed at encountering reality, science also has an irreducibly poetic dimension. Though it cannot be fully defined, it consists of practices aimed at deepening our grasp of the natural world. Knowledge remains personal, shaped by individual and communal integrity. Scientists, believing that “reality” exists and is (partially) knowable, seek coherence and favour unified theories. While reality may be truly known (if only in part), the notion of “objective” (impersonal) knowledge is, strictly speaking, an oxymoron (however useful). Knowledge is necessarily personal.</jats:p>