Scientific Realism In Particle Physics PDF Download
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Author | : Matthias Egg |
Publisher | : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |
Total Pages | : 254 |
Release | : 2014-08-19 |
Genre | : Philosophy |
ISBN | : 3110383519 |
Download Scientific Realism in Particle Physics Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Particle physics studies highly complex processes which cannot be directly observed. Scientific realism claims that we are nevertheless warranted in believing that these processes really occur and that the objects involved in them really exist. This book defends a version of scientific realism, called causal realism, in the context of particle physics. The first part of the book introduces the central theses and arguments in the recent philosophical debate on scientific realism and discusses entity realism, which is the most important precursor of causal realism. It also argues against the view that the very debate on scientific realism is not worth pursuing at all. In the second part, causal realism is developed and the key distinction between two kinds of warrant for scientific claims is clarified. This distinction proves its usefulness in a case study analyzing the discovery of the neutrino. It is also shown to be effective against an influential kind of pessimism, according to which even our best present theories are likely to be replaced some day by radically distinct alternatives. The final part discusses some specific challenges posed to realism by quantum physics, such as non-locality, delayed choice and the absence of particles in relativistic quantum theories.
Author | : Steven French |
Publisher | : Oxford University Press, USA |
Total Pages | : 335 |
Release | : 2020-02 |
Genre | : Philosophy |
ISBN | : 0198814976 |
Download Scientific Realism and the Quantum Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Quantum theory is widely regarded as one of the most successful theories in the history of science. It explains a hugely diverse array of phenomena and is a natural candidate for our best representation of the world at the level of 'fundamental' physics. But how can the world be the way quantum theory says it is? It is famously unclear what the world is like according to quantum physics, which presents a serious problem for the scientific realist who is committed to regarding our best theories as more or less true. The present volume canvasses a variety of responses to this problem, from restricting or revising realism in different ways to exploring entirely new directions in the lively debate surrounding realist interpretations of quantum physics. Some urge us to focus on new formulations of the theory itself, while others examine the status of scientific realism in the further context of quantum field theory. Each chapter is written by a renowned specialist in the field and is aimed at graduate students and researchers in both physics and the philosophy of science. Together they offer a range of illuminating new perspectives on this fundamental debate and exemplify the fruitful interaction between physics and philosophy.
Author | : Matthias Egg |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 209 |
Release | : 2012 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : |
Download Causal Explanations and Scientific Realism in Particle Physics Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Thèse. Lettres. 2012
Author | : E. Agazzi |
Publisher | : Springer Science & Business Media |
Total Pages | : 368 |
Release | : 2013-04-17 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 9401593914 |
Download The Reality of the Unobservable Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Observability and Scientific Realism It is commonly thought that the birth of modern natural science was made possible by an intellectual shift from a mainly abstract and specuJative conception of the world to a carefully elaborated image based on observations. There is some grain of truth in this claim, but this grain depends very much on what one takes observation to be. In the philosophy of science of our century, observation has been practically equated with sense perception. This is understandable if we think of the attitude of radical empiricism that inspired Ernst Mach and the philosophers of the Vienna Circle, who powerfully influenced our century's philosophy of science. However, this was not the atti tude of the f ounders of modern science: Galileo, f or example, expressed in a f amous passage of the Assayer the conviction that perceptual features of the world are merely subjective, and are produced in the 'anima!' by the motion and impacts of unobservable particles that are endowed uniquely with mathematically expressible properties, and which are therefore the real features of the world. Moreover, on other occasions, when defending the Copernican theory, he explicitly remarked that in admitting that the Sun is static and the Earth turns on its own axis, 'reason must do violence to the sense' , and that it is thanks to this violence that one can know the tme constitution of the universe.
Author | : Evandro Agazzi |
Publisher | : Springer |
Total Pages | : 405 |
Release | : 2017-03-08 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 3319516086 |
Download Varieties of Scientific Realism Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This book offers a comprehensive update on the scientific realism debate, enabling readers to gain a novel appreciation of the role of objectivity and truth in science and to understand fully the various ways in which antirealist conceptions have been subjected to challenge over recent decades. Authoritative representatives of different philosophical traditions explain their perspectives on the meaning and validity of scientific realism and describe the strategies being adopted to counter persisting antirealist positions. The coverage extends beyond the usual discussion of realism within the context of the natural sciences, and especially physics, to encompass also its applicability in mathematics, logic, and the human sciences. The book will appeal to all with an interest in the recent realist epistemologies of science, the nature of current philosophical debate, and the ongoing rehabilitation of truth as the legitimate goal of scientific research.
Author | : Brigitte Falkenburg |
Publisher | : Springer |
Total Pages | : 386 |
Release | : 2007-03-12 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 9783540337317 |
Download Particle Metaphysics Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Are the particles of modern physics "real" or are they virtual entities, their existence deduced merely by abstract theories? This book examines the continuing debate regarding the inner constitution of matter by exploring the particle concept in physics. It investigates if the particles of particle physics are real or not. Readers interested in the "true meaning" of such physical concepts will find this book informative and thought provoking.
Author | : Porter Doniphan Williams |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : |
Release | : 2016 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : |
Download Scientific Realism Made Effective Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This dissertation explores philosophical issues that arise in the practice of contemporary particle physics. The first chapter is a historical sketch of how the particle physics community came to believe that the quantum field theories used in particle physics are best understood as effective field theories -- quantum field theories that become inapplicable at some short distance scale and incorporate this inevitable breakdown in their mathematical framework. The second chapter argues that, contrary to the claims of many philosophers, the unique mathematical resources and empirical successes of effective field theories means that they can and should be equipped with a realist interpretation. The third chapter turns to an issue that has been at the center of particle physics for the last 40 years, the problem of naturalness, and draws on the renormalization group to provide a univocal understanding of ``naturalness'' that can make sense of the way it is employed in physical practice. Finally in the fourth chapter I critically examine recent philosophical work which argues that different physical scales in quantum field theory enjoy a sense of autonomy, arguing that the formal results on which this recent work is based cannot support the conclusions with which they have been saddled.
Author | : Samir Okasha |
Publisher | : Oxford University Press |
Total Pages | : 161 |
Release | : 2016 |
Genre | : Philosophy |
ISBN | : 0198745583 |
Download Philosophy of Science Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
What is science? -- Scientific inference -- Explanation in science -- Realism and anti-realism -- Scientific change and scientific revolutions -- Philosophical problems in physics, biology, and psychology -- Science and its critics.
Author | : Arthur Fine |
Publisher | : University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | : 233 |
Release | : 2009-02-25 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 0226923266 |
Download The Shaky Game Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
In this new edition, Arthur Fine looks at Einstein's philosophy of science and develops his own views on realism. A new Afterword discusses the reaction to Fine's own theory. "What really led Einstein . . . to renounce the new quantum order? For those interested in this question, this book is compulsory reading."—Harvey R. Brown, American Journal of Physics "Fine has successfully combined a historical account of Einstein's philosophical views on quantum mechanics and a discussion of some of the philosophical problems associated with the interpretation of quantum theory with a discussion of some of the contemporary questions concerning realism and antirealism. . . . Clear, thoughtful, [and] well-written."—Allan Franklin, Annals of Science "Attempts, from Einstein's published works and unpublished correspondence, to piece together a coherent picture of 'Einstein realism.' Especially illuminating are the letters between Einstein and fellow realist Schrödinger, as the latter was composing his famous 'Schrödinger-Cat' paper."—Nick Herbert, New Scientist "Beautifully clear. . . . Fine's analysis is penetrating, his own results original and important. . . . The book is a splendid combination of new ways to think about quantum mechanics, about realism, and about Einstein's views of both."—Nancy Cartwright, Isis
Author | : Paul K. Feyerabend |
Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | : 372 |
Release | : 1981 |
Genre | : Philosophy |
ISBN | : 9780521316422 |
Download Realism, Rationalism and Scientific Method: Volume 1 Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Over the past thirty years Paul Feyerabend has developed an extremely distinctive and influentical approach to problems in the philosophy of science. The most important and seminal of his published essays are collected here in two volumes, with new introductions to provide an overview and historical perspective on the discussions of each part. Volume 1 presents papers on the interpretation of scientific theories, together with papers applying the views developed to particular problems in philosophy and physics. The essays in volume 2 examine the origin and history of an abstract rationalism, as well as its consequences for the philosophy of science and methods of scientific research. Professor Feyerabend argues with great force and imagination for a comprehensive and opportunistic pluralism. In doing so he draws on extensive knowledge of scientific history and practice, and he is alert always to the wider philosophical, practical and political implications of conflicting views. These two volumes fully display the variety of his ideas, and confirm the originality and significance of his work.