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245Jill North argues that Hamiltonian mechanics provides the most spare -- and hence most accurate -- account of the structure of a classical world. We point out some difficulties for her argument, and raise some general points about attempts to minimize structural commitments
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238Scientific TheoriesIn Paul Humphreys (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Science, Oxford University Press Usa. pp. 585-608. 2016.Since the beginning of the 20th century, philosophers of science have asked, "what kind of thing is a scientific theory?" The logical positivists answered: a scientific theory is a mathematical theory, plus an empirical interpretation of that theory. Moreover, they assumed that a mathematical theory is specified by a set of axioms in a formal language. Later 20th century philosophers questioned this account, arguing instead that a scientific theory need not include a mathematical component; or t…Read more
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233A note on information theoretic characterizations of physical theoriesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 35 (2): 277-293. 2003.Clifton, Bub, and Halvorson (CBH) have recently argued that quantum theory is characterized by its satisfaction of three fundamental information-theoretic constraints. However, it is not difficult to construct apparent counterexamples to the CBH characterization theorem. In this paper, we discuss the limits of the characterization theorem, and we provide some technical tools for checking whether a theory (specified in terms of the convex structure of its state space) falls within these limits.
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222Categories of scientific theoriesIn Elaine Landry (ed.), Categories for the Working Philosopher, Oxford University Press. 2018.We discuss ways in which category theory might be useful in philosophy of science, in particular for articulating the structure of scientific theories. We argue, moreover, that a categorical approach transcends the syntax-semantics dichotomy in 20th century analytic philosophy of science.
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221Reeh-schlieder defeats Newton-Wigner: On alternative localization schemes in relativistic quantum field theoryPhilosophy of Science 68 (1): 111-133. 2001.Many of the "counterintuitive" features of relativistic quantum field theory have their formal root in the Reeh-Schlieder theorem, which in particular entails that local operations applied to the vacuum state can produce any state of the entire field. It is of great interest then that I.E. Segal and, more recently, G. Fleming (in a paper entitled "Reeh-Schlieder meets Newton-Wigner") have proposed an alternative "Newton-Wigner" localization scheme that avoids the Reeh-Schlieder theorem. In this …Read more
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219Brief discussion of Niels Bohr's place in the history of philosophy (including his philosophical forebears, Søren Kierkegaard, Rasmus Nielsen, and Harald Høffding)
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214Reconsidering Bohr's reply to EPRIn T. Placek & J. Butterfield (eds.), Non-locality and Modality, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 3--18. 2001.Although Bohr's reply to the EPR argument is supposed to be a watershed moment in the development of his philosophy of quantum theory, it is difficult to find a clear statement of the reply's philosophical point. Moreover, some have claimed that the point is simply that Bohr is a radical positivist. In this paper, we show that such claims are unfounded. In particular, we give a mathematically rigorous reconstruction of Bohr's reply to the _original_ EPR argument that clarifies its logical struct…Read more
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210Algebraic quantum field theoryIn J. Butterfield & J. Earman (eds.), Handbook of the philosophy of physics, Kluwer Academic Publishers. 2006.Algebraic quantum field theory provides a general, mathematically precise description of the structure of quantum field theories, and then draws out consequences of this structure by means of various mathematical tools -- the theory of operator algebras, category theory, etc.. Given the rigor and generality of AQFT, it is a particularly apt tool for studying the foundations of QFT. This paper is a survey of AQFT, with an orientation towards foundational topics. In addition to covering the basics…Read more
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205Locality, localization, and the particle concept: Topics in the foundations of quantum field theoryDissertation, University of Pittsburgh. 2001.This dissertation reconsiders some traditional issues in the foundations of quantum mechanics in the context of relativistic quantum field theory (RQFT); and it considers some novel foundational issues that arise first in the context of RQFT. The first part of the dissertation considers quantum nonlocality in RQFT. Here I show that the generic state of RQFT displays Bell correlations relative to measurements performed in any pair of spacelike separated regions, no matter how distant. I also show…Read more
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200Glymour and Quine on Theoretical EquivalenceJournal of Philosophical Logic 45 (5): 467-483. 2016.Glymour and Quine propose two different formal criteria for theoretical equivalence. In this paper we examine the relationships between these criteria.
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191Why methodological naturalism?In Kelly James Clark (ed.), Blackwell Companion to Naturalism, Blackwell. 2016.I discuss motivations for methodological naturalism in science. I argue that methodological naturalism neither needs nor supports metaphysical naturalism.
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190Everyone will find something interesting in this book, and many will find something or other that they completely disagree with. William Demopoulos was no fan o.
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186Morita EquivalenceReview of Symbolic Logic 9 (3): 556-582. 2016.Logicians and philosophers of science have proposed various formal criteria for theoretical equivalence. In this paper, we examine two such proposals: definitional equivalence and categorical equivalence. In order to show precisely how these two well-known criteria are related to one another, we investigate an intermediate criterion called Morita equivalence.
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183Max Jammer claimed that, "There can be no doubt that the Danish precursor of modern existentialism and neo-orthodox theology, Soren Kierkegaard, through his influence on Bohr, affected also the course of modern physics to some extent." Despite Jammer's failure to supply sufficient evidence for this claim, I argue that it is not completely off base. In particular, I argue that Kierkegaard and Bohr belong to a common philosophical tradition, and I begin to investigate some of the themes that chara…Read more
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178Foundations and PhilosophyPhilosophers' Imprint 18. 2018.The Univalent Foundations of mathematics take the point of view that all of mathematics can be encoded in terms of spatial notions like "point" and "path". We will argue that this new point of view has important implications for philosophy, and especially for those parts of analytic philosophy that take set theory and first-order logic as their benchmark of rigor. To do so, we will explore the connection between foundations and philosophy, outline what is distinctive about the logic of the Univa…Read more
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178A philosopher's understanding of quantum mechanics: Possibilities and impossibilities of a modal interpretation Pieter VermaasBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 52 (2): 387-391. 2001.
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177The Measure of All Things: Quantum Mechanics and the SoulIn Mark C. Baker & Stewart Goetz (eds.), The Soul Hypothesis: Investigations Into the Existence of the Soul, Continuum Press. pp. 138. 2011.
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177On information-theoretic characterizations of physical theoriesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 35 (2): 277-293. 2004.
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140Maximal beable subalgebras of quantum-mechanical observablesInternational Journal of Theoretical Physics 38 2441-2484. 1999.The centerpiece of Jeffrey Bub's book Interpreting the Quantum World is a theorem (Bub and Clifton 1996) which correlates each member of a large class of no-collapse interpretations with some 'privileged observable'. In particular, the Bub-Clifton theorem determines the unique maximal sublattice L(R,e) of propositions such that (a) elements of L(R,e) can be simultaneously determinate in state e, (b) L(R,e) contains the spectral projections of the privileged observable R, and (c) L(R,e) is picked…Read more
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126Robert K. Clifton 1964–2002Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 34 (1): 1-3. 2003.
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123Each many-sorted theory can be converted to an unsorted theory. But this conversion procedure is not uniquely determined, leading to a dilemma: which unsorted theory captures the content of the corresponding many-sorted theory?
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122On quanta, mind, and matter: Hans primas in context - H. Atmanspacher, A. Amann, U. Muller-Herold (eds), kluwer, boston, 1999, pp. 398 + VIII, US$192.00£133.56 (hardback), ISBN 0-7923-5696- (review)Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (4): 744-747. 2002.
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121How Logic Works: A User's GuidePrinceton University Press. 2020.How Logic Works is an introductory logic textbook that is different by design. Rather than teaching elementary symbolic logic as an abstract or rote mathematical exercise divorced from ordinary thinking, Hans Halvorson presents it as the skill of clear and rigorous reasoning, which is essential in all fields and walks of life, from the sciences to the humanities—anywhere that making good arguments, and spotting bad ones, is critical to success. Instead of teaching how to apply algorithms using …Read more
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106Concluding Unscientific Image (review)Metascience 29 175-185. 2020.40-year anniversary review of van Fraassen's Scientific Image
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103From Geometry to Conceptual RelativityErkenntnis 82 (5): 1043-1063. 2017.The purported fact that geometric theories formulated in terms of points and geometric theories formulated in terms of lines are “equally correct” is often invoked in arguments for conceptual relativity, in particular by Putnam and Goodman. We discuss a few notions of equivalence between first-order theories, and we then demonstrate a precise sense in which this purported fact is true. We argue, however, that this fact does not undermine metaphysical realism.
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100The Logic in Philosophy of ScienceCambridge University Press. 2019.Major figures of twentieth-century philosophy were enthralled by the revolution in formal logic, and many of their arguments are based on novel mathematical discoveries. Hilary Putnam claimed that the Löwenheim-Skølem theorem refutes the existence of an objective, observer-independent world; Bas van Fraassen claimed that arguments against empiricism in philosophy of science are ineffective against a semantic approach to scientific theories; W. V. O. Quine claimed that the distinction between ana…Read more
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57On quanta, mind, and matter: Hans Primas in ContextStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (4): 744-747. 2002.
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48It Keeps me Seeking: The Invitation from Science, Philosophy and ReligionOxford University Press. 2018.Here is a fresh look at how science contributes to the bigger picture of human flourishing, through a collage of science and philosophy, richly illustrated by the authors' own experience and personal reflection. They survey the territory of fundamental physics, machine learning, philosophy of human identity, evolutionary biology, miracles, arguments from design, naturalism, the history of ideas, and more. The natural world can be appreciated not only for itself, but also as an eloquent gesture, …Read more
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28What Philosophy of Science has to Offer to TheologyPhilosophy, Theology and the Sciences 10 (1): 96. 2023.In this text, I explore the intertwined relationship between philosophy of science and theology, and the challenges they both encounter in the academic realm. While theology is struggling to maintain its relevance, philosophy of science has gained recognition and offers valuable insights to theologians. I argue that theologians can benefit from engaging with the content and methods of specific sciences, and philosophers of science can help affirm the methodological legitimacy of theology. Howeve…Read more
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22Review of Pieter E. Vermaas: A philosopher's understanding of quantum mechanics: possibilities and impossibilities of a modal interpretation (review)British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 52 (2): 387-391. 2001.
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Princeton UniversityDepartment of Philosophy
Department of MathematicsStuart Professor of Philosophy -
Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Physical Science |
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
General Philosophy of Science |
PhilPapers Editorships
Philosophy of Physical Science |