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41On the problem of hidden variables for quantum mechanical observables with continuous spectraPhilosophy of Science 44 (3): 475-477. 1977.Existing "no hidden variable proofs" for quantum mechanics deal exclusively with observables with discrete spectra. This note shows that similar results hold for observables with continuous spectra
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39The projection postulate: A new perspectivePhilosophy of Science 51 (3): 369-395. 1984.Previous work has shown that the problem of measurement in quantum mechanics is not correctly seen as one of understanding some allegedly univocal process of measurement in nature which corresponds to the projection postulate. The present paper introduces a new perspective by showing that how we are to understand the nature of the change of quantum mechanical state on measurement depends very sensitively on the interpretation of the state function, and by showing how attention to this dependence…Read more
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39The rotating disk argument and Humean supervenience: cutting the Gordian knotAnalysis 62 (3): 205-210. 2002.
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37On Quine's Relativity of OntologyCanadian Journal of Philosophy 3 (2). 1973.Quine's essay, “Ontological Relativity” [2] has brought about not a little confusion and disagreement. What is Quine's doctrine, and what are his arguments for it? The following paragraphs search for an answer. First a word about my aims. I will avoid adding to the already extensive discussion of Quine's older thesis of the indeterminacy of translation. Instead, where connections between the old and new doctrines become apparent, I will focus on the connections themselves and their repercussions…Read more
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36Mechanism, Reduction, and Emergence in Two Stories of the Human Epistemic EnterpriseErkenntnis 73 (3). 2010.The traditional way of thinking about science goes back to the corpuscular philosophy with its micro-reductive mechanism and metaphor of reading God's Book of Nature. This "story-1" with its rhetoric of exact truths contrasts with "story-2" which describes science as a continuation of the always imperfect powers of representation given to us by evolution. On story-2 reduction is one among other knowledge fashioning strategies and shares the imperfections of all human knowledge. When we appreciat…Read more
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34A metaphysics for contemporary field theoriesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 28 (4): 507-522. 1997.
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31Comments on the Papers of Cushing and Redhead: "Models, High-Energy Theoretical Physics and Realism" and "Quantum Field Theory for Philosophers"PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1982. 1982.In response to Cushing it is urged that the vicissitudes of quantum field theory do not press towards a nonrealist attitude towards the theory as strongly as he suggests. A variety of issues which Redhead raises are taken up, including photon localizability, the wave-particle distinction in the classical limit, and the interpretation of quantum statistics, vacuum fluctuations, virtual particles, and creation and annihilation operators. It is urged that quantum field theory harbors an unacknowled…Read more
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31Ronald Yoshida's Reduction in the Physical SciencesReduction in the Physical SciencesNoûs 14 (1): 136. 1980.
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30Explaining Science: A Cognitive Approach. Ronald N. Giere (review)Philosophy of Science 57 (4): 729-731. 1990.
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27Concepts of Science: A Philosophical Analysis (review)Philosophical Review 82 (1): 110-114. 1973.
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25The philosophy of physics - Roberto torretti; cambridge university press, cambridge, 1999, pp. XVI+512, index, US $70.00, ISBN 0-521-56259-7 (hbk), 0-521-56571-5 (pbk) (review)Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (4): 725-730. 2002.
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24The Projection Postulate and Bohr's Interpretation of Quantum MechanicsPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1980 201-223. 1980.This article explains why Bohr does not need to discuss the projection postulate or the "problem of measurement". Beginning with a thumbnail sketch of Bohr 's general views, it is argued that Bohr interprets the state function as giving a statistical summary of experimental outcomes. Against the objection that Bohr was too much a microrealist to endorse such an instrumentalist statistical interpretation it is suggested that he rejected the issue of microrealism as not well formed. It is shown th…Read more
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23Truth Probability and Paradox: Studies in Philosophical LogicPhilosophical Review 84 (2): 276. 1975.
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21A Contemporary Look at EmergenceIn Ansgar Beckermann, Hans Flohr & Jaegwon Kim (eds.), Emergence or Reduction?: Essays on the Prospects of Nonreductive Physicalism, W. De Gruyter. pp. 139-154. 1992.
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20Karel Lambert and Gordon G. Brittan Jr. An introduction to the philosophy of science. Second, revised and expanded edition. Ridgeview Publishing Company, Reseda, Calif., 1979, x + 164 pp (review)Journal of Symbolic Logic 47 (2): 476-477. 1982.
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19The Shaky Game: Einstein, Realism, and the Quantum TheoryPhilosophy of Science 55 (1): 155-156. 1988.
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16Particle Labels and the Theory of Indistinguishable Particles in Quantum MechanicsBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 43 (2): 201-218. 1992.We extend the work of French and Redhead [1988] further examining the relation of quantum statistics to the assumption that quantum entities have the sort of identity generally assumed for physical objects, more specifically an identity which makes them susceptible to being thought of as conceptually individuatable and labelable even though they cannot be experimentally distinguished. We also further examine the relation of such hypothesized identity of quantum entities to the Principle of the I…Read more
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15Against Against Overlap and EnduranceIn Gerhard Preyer & Frank Siebelt (eds.), Reality and Humean Supervenience: Essays on the Philosophy of David Lewis, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 105--21. 2001.
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12Some Discussion and Extension of Manfred Bierwisch's Work on German AdjectivalsFoundations of Language 5 (2): 185-217. 1969.
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11Subjectivity and Knowing What It’s LikeIn Ansgar Beckermann, Hans Flohr & Jaegwon Kim (eds.), Emergence or Reduction?: Essays on the Prospects of Nonreductive Physicalism, W. De Gruyter. pp. 180-200. 1992.
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10The philosophy of physicsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (4): 725-730. 2002.
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9Sentence logicPrentice-Hall. 1989.Table of Contents Volume I Preface to Volumes I and II: A Guide to the Primer Chapter 1, Basic Ideas and Tools Chapter 2, Transcription between English and Sentence Logic Chapter 3, Logical Equivalence, Logical Truths, and Contradictions Chapter 4, Validity and Conditionals Chapter 5, Natural Deduction for Sentence Logic: Fundamentals Chapter 6, Natural Deduction for Sentence Logic: Strategies Chapter 7, Natural Deduction for Sentence Logic: Derived Rules and Derivations without Premises Chapter…Read more