It is argued that the contrast between “fundamentalists” and “bootstrappers” in high-energy physics reflects the contrast between Western and Eastern philosophy. Most physicists are reluctant to accept the bootstrap model because the fundamentalist thinking is intimately connected with their cultural and philosophical background. A comparison of the general philosophy and of the more detailed features of the model with the concepts of Mahayana Buddhism reveals striking similarities.
目次
Foundamentalists and Bootstrappers 15 The Western View 16 The Eastern View 16 The Hadron Bootstrap 17 Mahayana 18 Enlargement of the Bootstrap 19 Acknowledgement 19