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160Quantum vaguenessErkenntnis 59 (1). 2003.It has been suggested that quantum particles are genuinelyvague objects (Lowe 1994a). The present work explores thissuggestion in terms of the various metaphysical packages that areavailable for describing such particles. The formal frameworksunderpinning such packages are outlined and issues of identityand reference are considered from this overall perspective. Indoing so we hope to illuminate the diverse ways in whichvagueness can arise in the quantum context.
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229The Structure of the World: Metaphysics and RepresentationOxford University Press. 2014.Steven French articulates and defends the bold claim that there are no objects in the world. He draws on metaphysics and philosophy of science to argue for structural realism--the position that we live in a world of structures--and defends a form of eliminativism about objects that sets laws and symmetry principles at the heart of ontology
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188Identity in physics: a historical, philosophical, and formal analysisOxford University Press. 2006.Steven French and Decio Krause examine the metaphysical foundations of quantum physics. They draw together historical, logical, and philosophical perspectives on the fundamental nature of quantum particles and offer new insights on a range of important issues. Focusing on the concepts of identity and individuality, the authors explore two alternative metaphysical views; according to one, quantum particles are no different from books, tables, and people in this respect; according to the other, th…Read more
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108Eschewing Entities: Outlining a Biology Based Form of Structural RealismIn Vassilios Karakostas & Dennis Dieks (eds.), EPSA11 Perspectives and Foundational Problems in Philosophy of Science, Springer. pp. 371--381. 2013.
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94Shifting to structures in physics and biology: A prophylactic for promiscuous realismStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 42 (2): 164-173. 2011.Within the philosophy of science, the realism debate has been revitalised by the development of forms of structural realism. These urge a shift in focus from the object oriented ontologies that come and go through the history of science to the structures that remain through theory change. Such views have typically been elaborated in the context of theories of physics and are motivated by, first of all, the presence within such theories of mathematical equations that allow straightforward represe…Read more
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34Book notice: D. Greenberger, K. Hentschel and F. Weinart : Compendium of quantum physics. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2009, xvi+901pp, £153 HB (review)Metascience 21 (1): 247-247. 2011.Book notice Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-1 DOI 10.1007/s11016-011-9591-8 Authors Steven French, Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK Journal Metascience Online ISSN 1467-9981 Print ISSN 0815-0796
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97Superconductivity and structures: revisiting the London accountStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 28 (3): 363-393. 1997.Cartwright and her collaborators have elaborated a provocative view of science which emphasises the independence from theory &unknown;in methods and aims&unknown; of phenomenological model building. This thesis has been supported in a recent paper by an analysis of the London and London model of superconductivity. In the present work we begin with a critique of Cartwright's account of the relationship between theoretical and phenomenological models before elaborating an alternative picture withi…Read more
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422Quantum gravity meets structuralism: Interweaving relations in the foundations of physicsIn Dean Rickles, Steven French & Juha T. Saatsi (eds.), The Structural Foundations of Quantum Gravity, Oxford University Press. pp. 1--39. 2006.
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11Review of BAS VAN FRAASSEN: Quantum Mechanics: An Empiricist Approach (review)British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 46 (3): 436-439. 1995.
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132Looking for structure in all the wrong places: Ramsey sentences, multiple realisability, and structureStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 37 (4): 633-655. 2006.‘Epistemic structural realism’ (ESR) insists that all that we know of the world is its structure, and that the ‘nature’ of the underlying elements remains hidden. With structure represented via Ramsey sentences, the question arises as to how ‘hidden natures’ might also be represented. If the Ramsey sentence describes a class of realisers for the relevant theory, one way of answering this question is through the notion of multiple realisability. We explore this answer in the context of the work o…Read more
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140Philosophy of Science A Personal Peek into the FutureMetaphilosophy 44 (3): 230-240. 2013.In this opinion piece, the authors offer their personal and idiosyncratic views of the future of the philosophy of science, focusing on its relationship with the history of science and metaphysics, respectively. With regard to the former, they suggest that the Kantian tradition might be drawn upon both to render the history and philosophy of science more relevant to philosophy as a whole and to overcome the challenges posed by naturalism. When it comes to the latter, they suggest both that metap…Read more
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262Identity and individuality in classical and quantum physicsAustralasian Journal of Philosophy 67 (4). 1989.This Article does not have an abstract
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15Travelling in New DirectionsIn Steven French & Juha Saatsi (eds.), Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Science, Continuum. pp. 337. 2011.This chapter discusses some emerging trends, new directions, and outstanding issues in philosophy of science. The first section places contemporary philosophy of science in context by considering its relationship to analytic philosophy at large, to the history of science, and to science itself. The subsequent sections will then take a look at a selection of interesting trends emerging from current research, and some important issues calling for further work. The presentation is inevitably colour…Read more
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20Correspondence, Invariance and Heuristics: Essays in Honour of Heinz Post (edited book)Kluwer Academic Publishers. 1993.This volume is presented in honour of Heinz Post, who founded a distinc tive and distinguished school of philosophy of science at Chelsea College, University of London. The 'Chelsea tradition' in philosophy of science takes the content of science seriously, as exemplified by the papers presented here. The unifying theme of this work is that of 'Correspondence, Invariance and Heuristics', after the title of a classic and seminal paper by Heinz Post, published in 1971, which is reproduced in this …Read more
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44Semantic perspective on idealization in quantum mechanicsPoznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities 63 51-74. 1998.
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110A phenomenological solution to the measurement problem? Husserl and the foundations of quantum mechanicsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (3): 467-491. 2002.The London and Bauer monograph occupies a central place in the debate concerning the quantum measurement problem. Gavroglu has previously noted the influence of Husserlian phenomenology on London's scientific work. However, he has not explored the full extent of this influence in the monograph itself. I begin this paper by outlining the important role played by the monograph in the debate. In effect, it acted as a kind of 'lens' through which the standard, or Copenhagen, 'solution' to the measur…Read more
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13W. E. HERFEL, W. KRAJEWSKI,, I. NIINILUOTO, AND R. WÓJCICKI (Eds.), Theories and Models in Scientific Processes. Poznań Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, Vol. 44, Amsterdam/Atlanta, Rodopi, 1995British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47 (4): 658-662. 1996.
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153Quantum sortal predicatesSynthese 154 (3). 2007.Sortal predicates have been associated with a counting process, which acts as a criterion of identity for the individuals they correctly apply to. We discuss in what sense certain types of predicates suggested by quantum physics deserve the title of ‘sortal’ as well, although they do not characterize either a process of counting or a criterion of identity for the entities that fall under them. We call such predicates ‘quantum-sortal predicates’ and, instead of a process of counting, to them is a…Read more
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260The model-theoretic approach in the philosophy of sciencePhilosophy of Science 57 (2): 248-265. 1990.An introduction to the model-theoretic approach in the philosophy of science is given and it is argued that this program is further enhanced by the introduction of partial structures. It is then shown that this leads to a natural and intuitive account of both "iconic" and mathematical models and of the role of the former in science itself
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60The Theoretical Practices of Physics: Philosophical Essays * By R.I.G. HUGHESAnalysis 70 (3): 601-603. 2010.(No abstract is available for this citation)
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77Keeping quiet on the ontology of modelsSynthese 172 (2): 231-249. 2010.Stein once urged us not to confuse the means of representation with that which is being represented. Yet that is precisely what philosophers of science appear to have done at the meta-level when it comes to representing the practice of science. Proponents of the so-called ‘syntactic’ view identify theories as logically closed sets of sentences or propositions and models as idealised interpretations, or ‘theoruncula, as Braithwaite called them. Adherents of the ‘semantic’ approach, on the other h…Read more
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63Falkenburg Brigitte, Particle Metaphysics: A Critical Account of Subatomic Reality , Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York (2007) pp. xvii+386Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 40 (2): 194-195. 2009.
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88Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Science (edited book)Continuum. 2011.A one volume reference guide To The latest research in Philosophy of Science, written by an international team of leading scholars in the field.
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Symmetry, Invariance and ReferenceiIn W. K. Essler & M. Frauchiger (eds.), Representation, Evidence, and Justification: Themes From Suppes, Ontos Verlag. pp. 2--127. 2008.
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99Models, Theories, and Structures: Thirty Years onPhilosophy of Science 67 (S1). 2000.Thirty years after the conference that gave rise to The Structure of Scientific Theories, there is renewed interest in the nature of theories and models. However, certain crucial issues from thirty years ago are reprised in current discussions; specifically: whether the diversity of models in the science can be captured by some unitary account; and whether the temporal dimension of scientific practice can be represented by such an account. After reviewing recent developments we suggest that thes…Read more
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307A green Parrot is just as much a red Herring as a white shoe: A note on confirmation, background knowledge and the logico-probabilistic approachBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 39 (4): 531-535. 1988.
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