[metaphor]
Although physicists agree on the formalism of their theories and the methodology of their experiments, they often disagree about the question of what it all means. A few hundred years ago, this was only to be expected, since at its inception, physics covered very limited aspects of the world. However, now physics can arguably lay proper claim to providing an effective description of all material processes, if not in practice then at least in principle. And with no obstacles visible to a full understanding of the dance of matter and energy in space and time, what aspect of the world would not be amenable to an analysis by physics, again at least in principle?
secular view - physics can only cover limited aspects of our experience fundamentalist view - application and exploration of current physics will cover and explain all of reality.
No Math → Mind Link : mathematic structures are out there, completely independent of discovery. Math is not a product of the human mind.
Math is unique in its ability to circumvent the classic problem of [infinite regress], where every explanation of a statement in human [language] must be in form of another unexplained statement.
The key is that the explorer needs no a priori explanation of what concepts like integers, vectors or groups mean, since she herself will introduce notation for them and create her own interpretation of them. Mathematics is thus the same whether it is discovered by us, by computers or by extraterrestrials.
another demotion would not bother me at all. I am what I am and will continue to enjoy feeling the way I subjectively feel regardless what the underlying explanation turns out to be
The Mystic
The reason I like the word ‘mystic’ is that the future science I envision will be so different from current science, and the role of elements such as math and experiments will be so different from what they are now, that we have not the foggiest idea of what these will look like. The structures of a future science will remain a mystery, and the only thing we can be pretty sure of is that our current lines of reason will be seen to be naive and superficial, compared with the newer and deeper insights.
So let me be clear: the word ‘mystic’ for me points to a form of probing into mysteries, as it was meant in Medieval times.