•  696
    Why Interpret Quantum Physics?
    Open Journal of Philosophy 6 (1): 86-102. 2016.
    This article probes the question of what interpretations of quantum mechanics actually accomplish. In other domains, which are briefly considered, interpretations serve to make alien systematizations intelligible to us. This often involves clarifying the status of their implicit ontology. A survey of interpretations of non-relativistic quantum mechanics supports the evaluation that these interpretations make a contribution to philosophy, but not to physics. Interpretations of quantum field theor…Read more
  •  342
    The consistent histories reformulation of quantum mechanics was developed by Robert Griffiths, given a formal logical systematization by Roland Omn\`{e}s, and under the label `decoherent histories', was independently developed by Murray Gell-Mann and James Hartle and extended to quantum cosmology. Criticisms of CH involve issues of meaning, truth, objectivity, and coherence, a mixture of philosophy and physics. We will briefly consider the original formulation of CH and some basic objections. Th…Read more
  •  242
    Scientific realism: The new debates
    Philosophy of Science 46 (4): 501-532. 1979.
    In place of earlier instrumentalist and phenomenalist interpretations of science both Quine and Sellars have developed highly influential realist positions centering around the doctrine that accepting a theory as explanatory and irreducible rationally entails accepting the entities posited by the theory. A growing reaction against this realism is partially based on perceived inadequacies in the doctrines of Quine and Sellars, but even more on reconstructions of scientific explanations which do n…Read more
  •  236
    The truth of scientific claims
    Philosophy of Science 49 (3): 437-462. 1982.
    The idea that science aspires to and routinely achieves truths about the world has been challenged in recent writings. Rather than beginning with a theory of scientific development, or of scientific explanation, we begin with a consideration of truth claims in ordinary discourse, particularly with Davidson's truth-functional semantics. Next we consider the way in which some framework features of ordinary language discourse are extended to and modified in scientific discourse. Two areas are treat…Read more
  •  118
    Philosophical interpretations of theories generally presuppose that a theory can be presented as a consistent mathematical formulation that is interpreted through models. Algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT) can fit this interpretative model. However, standard Lagrangian quantum field theory (LQFT), as well as quantum electrodynamics and nuclear physics, resists recasting along such formal lines. The difference has a distinct bearing on ontological issues. AQFT does not treat particle interacti…Read more
  •  108
    The standard model as a philosophical challenge
    Philosophy of Science 75 (4): 447-457. 2008.
    There are two opposing traditions in contemporary quantum field theory (QFT). Mainstream Lagrangian QFT led to and supports the standard model of particle interactions. Algebraic QFT seeks to provide a rigorous consistent mathematical foundation for field theory, but cannot accommodate the local gauge interactions of the standard model. Interested philosophers face a choice. They can accept algebraic QFT on the grounds of mathematical consistency and general accord with the semantic conception o…Read more
  •  106
    Schwinger and the ontology of quantum field theory
    Foundations of Science 12 (4): 295-323. 2007.
    An epistemological interpretation of quantum mechanics hinges on the claim that the distinctive features of quantum mechanics can be derived from some distinctive features of an observational basis. Old and new variations of this theme are listed. The program has a limited success in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. The crucial issue is how far it can be extended to quantum field theory without introducing significant ontological postulates. A C*-formulation covers algebraic quantum field the…Read more
  •  61
    Bohr and the realism debates
    In Jan Faye & Henry J. Folse (eds.), Niels Bohr and Contemporary Philosophy, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 279--302. 1994.
    This article clarifies Bohr's position by focusing on the work he did in nuclear physics and scattering theory.
  •  50
    Scientific Progress and Conceptual Consistency
    PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1984. 1984.
    One of the key interpretative problems generated by the development of quantum theory was the conceptual consistency underlying scientific change, a problem not adequately treated by any of the leading theories of scientific development. In different but related ways Quine, Sellars, and Davidson have treated the problem of conceptual consistency by showing how one can begin with ordinary language and proceed to specialized extensions. Their techniques have not been applied to modern physics. How…Read more
  •  49
    The new reductionism
    Philosophical Forum 39 (4): 439-461. 2008.
    No Abstract
  •  43
    Motion, Mechanics, and Theology
    Thought: Fordham University Quarterly 36 (3): 344-370. 1961.
  •  40
    A reinterpretation of Harre's copernican revolution
    Philosophy of Science 42 (1): 67-79. 1975.
    Rom Harré's proposed Copernican Revolution in the philosophy of science is a very ambitious undertaking. It challenges established views, proposes a radically new model for scientific explanation, and forces a rethinking of the foundations of the field. In his treatment of the natural sciences, Harré rejects all deductivist accounts of scientific explanation basically on the grounds that such accounts seriously distort the methods of explanation actually operative in science. In the social scien…Read more
  •  39
    Thomism and Atomism
    Modern Schoolman 38 (2): 121-141. 1961.
    This is an attempt, which I subsequently abandoned, to relate Thomistic metaphysics to modern physics.
  •  37
    Niels Bohr on the Unity of Science
    PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1980 224-244. 1980.
    Niels Bohr began his career with an attempt to give a correct descriptive account of the motion of electrons. When forced to abandon this interpretation, he adopted, but soon rejected, a hypothetical-deductive account. In his development of an interpretation for the new quantum theory Bohr began to concentrate on the way language functions to make descriptions possible. His later work on this problem and on the role of concepts in the foundations of science led him to anticipate some of the basi…Read more
  •  36
    The role of a posteriori mathematics in physics
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 62 166-175. 2018.
  •  34
    Aristotelianism and Modern Physics
    Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 38 (n/a): 102-109. 1964.
  •  34
    This book is the first to offer a systematic account of the role of language in the development and interpretation of physics. An historical-conceptual analysis of the co-evolution of physics and mathematics leads to the classical/quantum interface. Bohr's interpretation is analyzed and extended to the interpretation of the standard model of particle physics.
  •  33
    Dimensions of Mind (review)
    Modern Schoolman 39 (1): 68-70. 1961.
  •  31
    Language, speech, and speech-acts
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 34 (2): 224-238. 1973.
  •  30
    Atomic Physics and Reality
    Modern Schoolman 38 (1): 37-59. 1960.
  •  29
    The Development of Kant's Conception of Scientific Explanation
    PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1978. 1978.
    In the course of his long development, Kant's concept of matter changed somewhat, while his concept of scientific explanation changed considerably. Both developments achieved a coherent integration in Kant's Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science. Using this developmental background, the present paper argues that the Foundations should be interpreted as an attempted rational reconstruction of the mechanics of Newton and Euler. Kant attempted to do this by constructing a concept of matter th…Read more
  •  29
    The language of classical physics
    Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations 9 36-113. 2010.
    ABSTRACT. The objectivity of physics has been called into question by social theorists, Kuhnian relativists, and by anomalous aspects of quantum mechanics. Here we focus on one neglected background issue, the categorical structure of the language of classical physics. The first half is an historical overview of the formation of the language of classical physics, beginning with Aristotle's Categories and the novel idea of the quantity of a quality introduced by medieval Aristotelians. Descartes a…Read more
  •  26
    Theoretical Entities and Metatheories
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 3 (2): 105. 1972.
    This paper argues that existence claims for theoretical entities must be based on more than their role in one theory. The supplementary evidence should be either observation, whether direct or indirect, or the possibility of detaching the existence claim from one particular theory. A logical schematism for the latter type of support is developed.
  •  25
    Aspects of Scientific Explanation (review)
    New Scholasticism 41 (2): 283-283. 1967.
  •  25
    The Nature of Physical Knowledge (review)
    Modern Schoolman 39 (3): 269-272. 1962.
    A review of a book bu L. W. Friedrich, S. J.
  •  22
    Epistemological Problems in the Philosophy of Science, I
    Review of Metaphysics 22 (1). 1968.
    The revolt against logical positivism within the philosophy of science has now lasted long enough to produce something of a counter-revolution. As the more strident charges (positivistic analyses misrepresent the most fundamental features of the scientific enterprise and have contributed little or nothing to its clarification) and counter-charges (any attempt to induce a philosophy of science from studies in the history of science rests on a massive genetic fallacy) gradually subside, critical i…Read more