Philosophers Look at Quantum Mechanics

Description

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. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Introduction: Philosophers Look at Quantum Mechanics (Alberto Cordero)....Pages 1-17 Front Matter ....Pages 19-19 Inseparable Twins: A Conversation with Alain Aspect (Víctor Gómez Pin)....Pages 21-32 Bell’s Theorem, Realism, and Locality (Peter J. Lewis)....Pages 33-43 The Universal and the Local in Quantum Theory (Tim Maudlin)....Pages 45-60 Front Matter ....Pages 61-61 The Reality of the Wavefunction: Old Arguments and New (Harvey R. Brown)....Pages 63-86 Preliminary Considerations on the Emergence of Space and Time (David Albert)....Pages 87-95 Decoherence and Ontology (Roland Omnès)....Pages 97-105 Bohmian Mechanics and Its Ontological Commitments (James T. Cushing)....Pages 107-118 The Nomological Interpretation of the Wave Function (Albert Solé, Carl Hoefer)....Pages 119-138 Front Matter ....Pages 139-139 Scientific Realism Meets Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics (Juha Saatsi)....Pages 141-162 Structural Realism and the Standard Model (Steven French)....Pages 163-178 Front Matter ....Pages 163-163 The Problem of Individualism from Greek Thought to Quantum Physics (Peter Mittlestatedt)....Pages 181-197 Weyl, Identity, Indiscernibility, Realism (Otávio Bueno)....Pages 199-214 Front Matter ....Pages 215-215 What Is Really There in the Quantum World? (Jeffrey Bub)....Pages 217-233 A Foundational Principle for Quantum Mechanics (Anton Zeilinger)....Pages 235-245 Front Matter ....Pages 247-247 A Reconstruction of Quantum Mechanics (Simon Kochen)....Pages 249-284 What is Orthodox Quantum Mechanics? (David Wallace)....Pages 285-312