Scientific Realism In Particle Physics

Author : Matthias Egg
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110383519
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scientific Realism in Particle Physics written by Matthias Egg and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2014-08-19 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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
ISBN 13 : 0198814976
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scientific Realism and the Quantum written by Steven French and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-02 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 : Brigitte Falkenburg
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9783540337317
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.18/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Particle Metaphysics written by Brigitte Falkenburg and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-03-12 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 : Matthias Egg
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110354403
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Scientific Realism in Particle Physics written by Matthias Egg and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2014-08-19 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 : Samir Okasha
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198745583
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Philosophy of Science written by Samir Okasha and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this new edition Samir Ikasha reviews the main themes of contemporary philosophy of science. Beginning with a brief account of the history of modern science, he asks whether there is a discernible pattern to the way scientific ideas change over time. He examines scientific inference, scientific explanation, and the debate between realist and anti-realist views of science."--

Author : E. Agazzi
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9401593914
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Reality of the Unobservable written by E. Agazzi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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
ISBN 13 : 3319516086
Total Pages : 405 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Varieties of Scientific Realism written by Evandro Agazzi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-03-08 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3540337326
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Particle Metaphysics written by Brigitte Falkenburg and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-03-21 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 : G. D. Coughlan
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521677750
Total Pages : 84 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Ideas of Particle Physics written by G. D. Coughlan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-07-27 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A readable introduction to particle physics for anyone with a background in physical sciences.

Author : Valia Allori
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9783030996437
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Quantum Mechanics and Fundamentality written by Valia Allori and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited collection provides new perspectives on some metaphysical questions arising in quantum mechanics. These questions have been long-standing and are of continued interest to researchers and graduate students working in physics, philosophy of physics and metaphysics. It features contributions from a diverse set of researchers, ranging from senior scholars to junior academics, working in varied fields, from physics to philosophy of physics and metaphysics. The contributors reflect on issues about fundamentality (is quantum theory fundamental? If so, what is its fundamental ontology?), ontological dependence (how do ordinary objects exist even if they are not fundamental?), realism (what kind of realism is compatible with quantum theory?), indeterminacy (can the world itself exhibit ontological indeterminacy?). With contributions from both physicists (including Nobel Prize winner Gerard 't Hooft), science communicators and philosophers. .