Philosophers Look at Quantum Mechanics

by Alberto Cordero (Editor)

Overview

This edited volume explores the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. It features papers from venues of the International Ontology Congress (IOC) up to 2016. IOC is a worldwide platform for dialogue and reflection on the interactions between science and philosophy.

The collection features philosophers as well as physicists, including David Albert, Harvey Brown, Jeffrey Bub, Otávio Bueno, James Cushing, Steven French, Victor Gomez-Pin, Carl Hoefer, Simon Kochen, Peter Lewis, Tim Maudlin, Peter Mittlestatedt, Roland Omnès, Juha Saatsi, Albert Solé, David Wallace, and Anton Zeilinger.

Since the early days of quantum mechanics, philosophers have studied the subject with growing technical skill and fruitfulness. Their efforts have unveiled intellectual bridges between physics and philosophy. These connections have helped fuel the contemporary debate about the scope and limits of realism and understanding in the interpretation of physical theories and scientific theories in general. The philosophical analysis of quantum mechanics is now one of the most sophisticated and productive areas in contemporary philosophy, as the papers in this collection illustrate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030156596
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	08/13/2019
Series:	Synthese Library , #406
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Alberto Cordero (Ph.D Maryland, M.Phil Cambridge, M.Sc. Oxford, Lic.Sc. UNI): Full Professor of Philosophy and History, City University of New York at the CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College CUNY. Numerary Member of the Academie Internationale de.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Philosophers Look at Quantum MechanicsAlberto Cordero
Part I: Bell’s Theorem and the Debate on RealismChapter 1: Inseparable TwinsVictor Gomez-Pin
Chapter 2: Bell’s Theorem, Realism, and LocalityPeter Lewis
Chapter 3: The Universal and the Local in Quantum TheoryTim Maudlin
Part II: Ontological Explorations of QMChapter 4: The Reality of the Wavefunction: Old Arguments and NewHarvey Brown
Chapter 5: Preliminary Considerations on the Emergence of Space and TimeDavid Albert
Chapter 6: Decoherence and OntologyRoland Omnès
Chapter 7: Bohmian Mechanics and its Ontological CommitmentsJames Cushing
Chapter 8: The Nomological Interpretation of the Wave FunctionAlbert Solé and Carl Hoefer
Chapter 9: Scientific Realism Meets the Metaphysics of Quantum MechanicsJuha Saatsi
Chapter 10: Structural Realism and the Standard ModelSteven French
Part IV: Individuals, Individuation, and QMChapter 11: The Problem of Individualism from Greek Thought to Quantum PhysicsPeter Mittlestatedt
Chapter 12: Weyl, Identity, Indiscernibility, RealismOtavio Bueno
Part V: Copenhagen Insights RevisitedChapter 13: What is Really There in the Quantum World?Jeffrey Bub
Chapter 14: A Foundational Principle for Quantum MechanicsAnton Zeilinger
Part VI: Calls to Reconceptualize QMChapter 15: A Reconstruction of Quantum MechanicsSimon Kochen
Chapter 16: What is orthodox quantum mechanics?David Wallace