-
89On various senses of “conventional” and their interrelation in the philosophy of physics: simultaneity as a case studyIn Thomas Uebel, Stephan Hartmann, Wenceslao Gonzalez, Marcel Weber, Dennis Dieks & Friedrich Stadler (eds.), The Present Situation in the Philosophy of Science, Springer. pp. 335--349. 2010.My aim in this note is to disambiguate various senses of ‘conventional’ that in the philosophy of physics have been frequently conflated. As a case study, I will refer to the well-known issue of the conventionality of simultaneity in the special theory of relativity, since it is particularly in this context that the above mentioned confusion is present
-
95The paper defends two claims; Viewed from the perspective of the substantivalism/relationism debate, structural spacetime realism is a form of relationism; However, if we managed to reinforce Rynasiewicz’s point that the general theory of relativity makes the substantivalism/relationism dispute “outdated”, the re-elaboration of Stein ’s 1967 version of structural spacetime realism to be proposed here proves to be a good, antimetaphysical solution to the problem of the ontological status of space…Read more
-
7The question of the reality of time and the model-theoretic approach to scientific theoriesLogique Et Analyse 41 (164): 313-325. 1998.
-
140Epistemic and nonepistemic values in scienceIn Peter K. Machamer & Gereon Wolters (eds.), Science, Values, and Objectivity, University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 52--77. 2004.
-
11The alexandroff resent and Minkowski pacetime: PsIn Dennis Dieks, Wenceslao Gonzalo, Thomas Uebel, Stephan Hartmann & Marcel Weber (eds.), Explanation, Prediction, and Confirmation, Springer. pp. 2--379. 2011.
-
139In this paper I present and defend Rovelli's relation quantum mechanics from some foreseeable objections, so as to clarify its philosophical implications vis a vis rival interpretations. In particular I will ask whether RQM presupposes a hidden recourse to both a duality of evolutions and of ontology. I then concentrate on the pluralistic, antimonistic metaphysical consequences of the theory, due to the impossibility of assigning a state to the quantum universe. Finally, in the last section I no…Read more
-
171Absolute Becoming, Relational Becoming, and the Arrow of TimeStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern PhysicsMy first and main claim is that physics cannot provide empirical evidence for the objectivity of absolute becoming, for the simple reason that it must presuppose it, at least to the extent that classical spacetime theories presuppose an ontology of events. However, the fact that a theory of absolute becoming must be situated in the a priori realm of metaphysics does not make becoming completely irrelevant for physics, since my second claim will consist in showing that relational becoming, once a…Read more
-
1117Presentism and the Experience of TimeTopoi 34 (1): 265-275. 2015.Presentists have typically argued that the Block View is incapable of explaining our experience of time. In this paper I argue that the phenomenology of our experience of time is, on the contrary, against presentism. My argument is based on a dilemma: presentists must either assume that the metaphysical present has no temporal extension, or that it is temporally extended. The former horn leads to phenomenological problems. The latter renders presentism metaphysically incoherent, unless one posit…Read more
-
1068Laws of nature and the reality of the wave functionSynthese 192 (10): 3179-3201. 2015.In this paper I review three different positions on the wave function, namely: nomological realism, dispositionalism, and configuration space realism by regarding as essential their capacity to account for the world of our experience. I conclude that the first two positions are committed to regard the wave function as an abstract entity. The third position will be shown to be a merely speculative attempt to derive a primitive ontology from a reified mathematical space. Without entering any discu…Read more
-
16EPSA Philosophical Issues in the Sciences · Launch of the European Philosophy of Science Association (edited book)Springer. 2009.This volume collects papers presented at the Founding Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association meeting, held November 2007. It provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in philosophy of science in different European countries.
-
1500Grades of individuality. A pluralistic view of identity in quantum mechanics and in the sciencesPhilosophical Studies 163 (3): 591-610. 2013.This paper offers a critical assessment of the current state of the debate about the identity and individuality of material objects. Its main aim, in particular, is to show that, in a sense to be carefully specified, the opposition between the Leibnizian ‘reductionist’ tradition, based on discernibility, and the sort of ‘primitivism’ that denies that facts of identity and individuality must be analysable has become outdated. In particular, it is argued that—contrary to a widespread consensus—‘na…Read more
-
7Dalla freccia di Lucrezio all’ascensore di Einstein: alcune considerazioni sul ruolo degli esperimenti mentali nella scienzaRivista di Estetica 42 21-37. 2009.In this essay I claim that thought experiments have invariably been very important to inquire into the foundations of natural science (in particolar physics). In particular, they have proved essential to test the stability of allegedly clear but ultimately contradictory concepts, that were nonetheless at the basis of widely shared scientific theories. By quickly reviewing some famous Gedankenexperimenten proposed by Einstein against the completeness of (Bohr’s interpretation of) quantum mechanic…Read more
-
143Substantivalism, Relationism, and Structural Spacetime RealismFoundations of Physics 30 (10): 1605-1628. 2000.Debates about the ontological implications of the general theory of relativity have long oscillated between spacetime substantivalism and relationism. I evaluate such debates by claiming that we need a third option, which I refer to as “structural spacetime realism.” Such a tertium quid sides with the relationists in defending the relational nature of the spacetime structure, but joins the substantivalists in arguing that spacetime exists, at least in part, independently of particular physical o…Read more
-
61Becoming and the arrow of causationPhilosophy of Science 67 (3): 534. 2000.The conceptual relation between objective becoming and the direction of time is explored by discussing an ontologically asymmetric notion of causation. It is claimed that such a notion, in terms of which Stein defined objective becoming in Minkowski spacetime, has either a purely metaphysical status or is reducible to physical concepts. In the former case, it is adequate for Stein's purpose but irrelevant to physical theories. In the latter, the causal asymmetry can be related to irreversible ph…Read more
-
148Putnam on Time and Special Relativity: A Long Journey from Ontology to EthicsEuropean Journal of Analytic Philosophy 4 (2): 51-70. 2008.1.: In this paper I discuss Putnam’s view on time and the special theory of relativity. I first locate Putnam’s philosophical approach within a more general framework, essentially making reference to Sellar’s distinction between the scientific image and the manifest image of the world. I then reconstruct Putnam’s argument in favour of the reality of the future and the determinateness of truth-value for future tense sentences by showing that it is based on three premises that generate a contradic…Read more
-
388In this paper we argue that the different positions taken by Dyson and Feynman on Feynman diagrams’ representational role depend on different styles of scientific thinking. We begin by criticizing the idea that Feynman Diagrams can be considered to be pictures or depictions of actual physical processes. We then show that the best interpretation of the role they play in quantum field theory and quantum electrodynamics is captured by Hughes' Denotation, Deduction and Interpretation theory of model…Read more
-
357Ph.DIn Stanely Tweyman (ed.), Studies in early modern philosophy, Caravan Books Delmar. pp. 127-156. 1993.In this paper I sketch the evolution of the main theories of the relationship between time and motion from Descartes to Newton, by defending an hypothesis that traces back Newton’s realism about time to Barrow’s “metric realism”, which Newton developed as the claim that measuring a magnitude X implies that X exists independently of our measures.
-
Il tempo analizzato: origine e significato della metafora del flusso del tempoNuova Civiltà Delle Macchine 17 (4): 28-37. 1999.
-
46Time, Relativity, and the Spatiality of Mental EventsIn Maria Luisa Dalla Chiara (ed.), Language, Quantum, Music, Springer. pp. 197-207. 1999.Sellars once wrote that “‘the problem of time’ is rivaled only by the ‘mind-body problem’ in the extent to which it inexorably brings into play all the major concerns of philosophy”. Considering that time plays a major role both in our inner life and in the description of the outer world, one could suggest that two problems are deeply related: our progress in understanding bits of the problem of time might shed light into the mind-body problem and vice versa. In this paper, I will test the plaus…Read more
-
40Time and the metaphysics of relativityStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 34 (1): 154-158. 2003.
-
Cao on substantivalism and the development of 20th century field theoriesEpistemologia 22 (1): 151-166. 1999.
-
79Relativity theory between structural and dynamical explanationsInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 21 (1). 2006.(2007). Relativity Theory between Structural and Dynamical Explanations. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science: Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 95-102
-
74Absolute becoming, relational becoming and the arrow of time: Some non-conventional remarks on the relationship between physics and metaphysicsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 37 (3): 559-576. 2006.The literature on the compatibility between the time of our experience--characterized by passage or becoming--and time as is represented within spacetime theories has been affected by a persistent failure to get a clear grasp of the notion of becoming, both in its relation to an ontology of events tt"spreadtt" in a four-dimensional manifold, and in relation to temporally asymmetric physical processes.In the first part of my paper I try to remedy this situation by offering what I consider a clear…Read more
-
20Preface Bridging a Gulf (... or Perhaps Two!)European Journal of Analytic Philosophy 8 (1): 4-13. 2012.
-
564Realism and instrumentalism about the wave function. How should we choose?In Shao Gan (ed.), Protective Measurements and Quantum Reality: Toward a New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics, Cambridge University Press. 2014.The main claim of the paper is that one can be ‘realist’ (in some sense) about quantum mechanics without requiring any form of realism about the wave function. We begin by discussing various forms of realism about the wave function, namely Albert’s configuration-space realism, Dürr Zanghi and Goldstein’s nomological realism about Ψ, Esfeld’s dispositional reading of Ψ Pusey Barrett and Rudolph’s realism about the quantum state. By discussing the articulation of these four positions, and thei…Read more
-
M. Ferrari & I.-O. Stamatescu (Eds), Symbol and Physical Knowledge: On the Conceptual Structure of PhysicsInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 17 (1): 95-96. 2003.
-
Università degli Studi Roma TreDipartimento di Filosofia, Comunicazione e SpettacoloRegular Faculty