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47Quasi-set theory: a formal approach to a quantum ontology of propertiesSynthese 200 (5): 1-26. 2022.In previous works, an ontology of properties for quantum mechanics has been proposed, according to which quantum systems are bundles of properties with no principle of individuality. The aim of the present article is to show that, since quasi-set theory is particularly suited for dealing with aggregates of items that do not belong to the traditional category of individual, it supplies an adequate meta-language to speak of the proposed ontology of properties and its structure.
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18La controversia acerca de la identidad en su ingreso al ámbito de la mecánica cuánticaIdeas Y Valores 71 138-164. 2022.Los criterios de identidad propuestos por la metafísica tradicional debieron ser sometidos a una profunda revisión cuando entró en escena la mecánica cuántica con sus característicos sistemas indistinguibles. En este trabajo aplicamos el modelo de espacios controversiales de Oscar Nudler para analizar la controversia sobre la identidad en el ámbito de la mecánica cuántica y proponer la introducción en el debate de una ontología cuántica de propiedades sin objetos.
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15Not Individuals, Nor Even Objects: On the Ontological Nature of Quantum SystemsIn Jonas R. B. Arenhart & Raoni W. Arroyo (eds.), Non-Reflexive Logics, Non-Individuals, and the Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: Essays in Honour of the Philosophy of Décio Krause, Springer Verlag. pp. 45-77. 2023.To which ontological category do quantum systems belong? Although we usually speak of particles, it is well known that these peculiar items defy several traditional metaphysical principles. In the present chapter these challenges will be discussed in the light of certain distinctions usually not taken into account in the debate about the ontological nature of quantum systems. On this basis, it will be argued that an ontology of properties without individuals, framed in the algebraic formalism of…Read more
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7A Kantian-Rooted Pluralist Realism for ScienceIn Cristián Soto (ed.), Current Debates in Philosophy of Science: In Honor of Roberto Torretti, Springer Verlag. pp. 81-101. 2023.After the preeminence of logical positivism/empiricism during the most part of twentieth century, during the last decades many authors began to recognize the relevance of the Kantian thought for present-day philosophy of science. This chapter follows this general trend, adopting a realist reading of Kantian teachings. On this basis, I will delineate a Kantian-rooted realism according to which the worlds of science are always the result of a synthesis between the conceptual schemes embodied in sc…Read more
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11Relevancia de la Invariancia Frente a Inversión Temporal Para la Flecha Del TiempoRevista Colombiana de Filosofía de la Ciencia 22 (44). 2022.En este artículo se argumenta que la existencia de leyes invariantes frente a inversión temporal no es condición indispensable para la existencia de la flecha del tiempo. Esta última puede definirse como una propiedad global y geométrica del espacio-tiempo que no se basa en consideraciones entrópicas ni requiere de la existencia de leyes no invariantes frente a la inversión temporal. A su vez, si el espacio-tiempo cumple ciertas condiciones, la flecha global se traslada a los contextos locales c…Read more
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Information, communication and manipulabilityIn Olimpia Lombardi, Sebastian Fortin, Federico Holik & Cristian López (eds.), What is Quantum Information?, Cup. 2017.
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About the concept of informationIn Olimpia Lombardi, Sebastian Fortin, Federico Holik & Cristian López (eds.), What is Quantum Information?, Cup. 2017.
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8Open Letter: About the World, the Worlds and the Role of PhilosophyRevista de Humanidades de Valparaíso 8 129-145. 2016.This open letter is the result of the intense epistolary exchange I had with Prof. Torretti for many years, which has highly enriched my philosophical thought. Here I point out our agreement in adopting a Kantian perspective, and in the acknowledgement of the role played by the pragmatic dimension in science. However, we drift apart regarding the weight assigned to realism in our positions. These discussions with Prof. Torretti led me to make explicit the way in which I live philosophy: as a phi…Read more
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38How Different Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics can Enrich Each Other: The Case of the Relational Quantum Mechanics and the Modal-Hamiltonian InterpretationFoundations of Physics 52 (3): 1-21. 2022.In the literature on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, not many works attempt to adopt a proactive perspective aimed at seeing how different interpretations can enrich each other through a productive dialogue. In particular, few proposals have been devised to show that different approaches can be clarified by comparing them, and can even complement each other, improving or leading to a more fertile overall approach. The purpose of this paper is framed within this perspective of complement…Read more
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21Entanglement and indistinguishability in a quantum ontology of propertiesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 91 (C): 234-243. 2022.
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32Relational Event-Time in Quantum MechanicsFoundations of Physics 52 (1): 1-25. 2021.Some authors, inspired by the theoretical requirements for the formulation of a quantum theory of gravity, proposed a relational reconstruction of the quantum parameter-time—the time of the unitary evolution, which would make quantum mechanics compatible with relativity. The aim of the present work is to follow the lead of those relational programs by proposing a relational reconstruction of the event-time—which orders the detection of the definite values of the system’s observables. Such a reco…Read more
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12What is Quantum Information? (edited book)CUP. 2017.Combining physics and philosophy, this is a uniquely interdisciplinary examination of quantum information science. Suitable as both a discussion of the conceptual and philosophical problems of this field and a comprehensive stand-alone introduction, this book will benefit both experienced and new researchers in quantum information and the philosophy of physics.
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38Is the problem of molecular structure just the quantum measurement problem?Foundations of Chemistry 23 (3): 379-395. 2021.In a recent article entitled “The problem of molecular structure just is the measurement problem”, Alexander Franklin and Vanessa Seifert argue that insofar as the quantum measurement problem is solved, the problems of molecular structure are resolved as well. The purpose of the present article is to show that such a claim is too optimistic. Although the solution of the quantum measurement problem is relevant to how the problem of molecular structure is faced, such a solution is not sufficient t…Read more
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18The Frauchiger-Renner argument: A new no-go result?Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 70 1-7. 2020.
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39The relationship between chemistry and physics from the perspective of Bohmian mechanicsFoundations of Chemistry 19 (1): 43-59. 2017.Although during the last decades the philosophy of chemistry has greatly extended its thematic scope, the main difficulties appear in the attempt to link the chemical description of atoms and molecules and the description supplied by quantum mechanics. The aim of this paper is to analyze how the difficulties that threaten the continuous conceptual link between molecular chemistry and quantum mechanics can be overcome or, at least, moderated from the perspective of BM. With this purpose, in “The …Read more
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160What is information?Foundations of Science 9 (2): 105-134. 2004.The main aim of this work is to contribute tothe elucidation of the concept of informationby comparing three different views about thismatter: the view of Fred Dretske's semantictheory of information, the perspective adoptedby Peter Kosso in his interaction-informationaccount of scientific observation, and thesyntactic approach of Thomas Cover and JoyThomas. We will see that these views involvevery different concepts of information, eachone useful in its own field of application. This comparison…Read more
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37Two-step emergence: the quantum theory of atoms in molecules as a bridge between quantum mechanics and molecular chemistryFoundations of Chemistry 22 (1): 107-129. 2020.By moving away from the traditional reductionist reading of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules, in this paper we analyze the role played by QTAIM in the relationship between molecular chemistry and quantum mechanics from an emergentist perspective. In particular, we show that such a relationship involves two steps: an intra-domain emergence and an inter-domain emergence. Intra-domain emergence, internal to quantum mechanics, results from the fact that the electron density, from which all t…Read more
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6Hacia una interpretación fisico-causal de la información en contextos comunicacionalesCritica 50 (149): 59-88. 2018.El objetivo del presente artículo es proponer una nueva interpretación del concepto de información en contextos comunicacionales: una interpretación físicocausal. Apelando a las teorías manipulabilistas de la causación, principalmente en su versión intervencionista, buscaremos mostrar que la información comunicacional es una propiedad física que podemos manipular para generar situaciones comunicacionales. Este enfoque nos permite entender la naturaleza de la comunicación como estructura causal, …Read more
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172The ontological autonomy of the chemical worldFoundations of Chemistry 7 (2): 125-148. 2004.In the problem of the relationship between chemistry and physics, many authors take for granted the ontological reduction of the chemical world to the world of physics. The autonomy of chemistry is usually defended on the basis of the failure of epistemological reduction: not all chemical concepts and laws can be derived from the theoretical framework of physics. The main aim of this paper is to argue that this line of argumentation is not strong enough for eliminate the idea of a hierarchical d…Read more
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27The modal-Hamiltonian interpretation and the Galilean covariance of quantum mechanicsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 41 (2): 93-103. 2010.
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116The problem of identifying the system and the environment in the phenomenon of decoherenceIn Henk W. de Regt (ed.), EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009, Springer. pp. 161--174. 2011.According to the environment-induced approach to decoherence, the split of the Universe into the degrees of freedom which are of direct interest to the observer and the remaining degrees of freedom is absolutely essential for decoherence. However, the EID approach offers no general criterion for deciding where to place the “cut” between system and environment: the environment may be “external” or “internal”. The main purpose of this paper is to argue that decoherence is a relative phenomenon, be…Read more
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43Histories in quantum mechanics: distinguishing between formalism and interpretationEuropean Journal for Philosophy of Science 8 (3): 367-394. 2018.In spite of being a well articulated proposal, the theory of quantum histories, in its different versions, suffers from certain difficulties that have been pointed out in the literature. Nevertheless, two facets of the proposal have not been sufficiently stressed. On the one hand, it is a non-collapse formalism that should be technically appropriate to supply descriptions based on quantum properties at different times. On the other hand, it intends to provide an interpretation of quantum mechani…Read more
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19The modal-Hamiltonian interpretation and the Galilean covariance of quantum mechanicsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 41 (2): 93-103. 2010.
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10The problem of irreversibility, from Fourier to Chaos theoryIn Oscar Nudler (ed.), Controversy Spaces: A Model of Scientific and Philosophical Change, John Benjamins. 2011.
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2The central role of the Hamiltonian in quantum mechanics: Decoherence and interpretarionManuscrito 33 (1): 307-349. 2010.The core of the environment-induced decoherence program relies on the interaction between the system and its environment; this interaction leads interference to vanish with respect to a definite “preferred basis”. On the other hand, modal interpretations of quantum mechanics supply criteria to select the “preferred context”, where observables acquire definite values. The purpose of this paper is to show the compatibility between the modal interpretative framework and the results of the decoheren…Read more
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24Classical and quantum information: two kinds of information?Scientiae Studia 13 (1): 143-174. 2015.El presente artículo busca ofrecer un análisis conceptual de la noción de información, a partir del modo en que es definida por las teorías formales de Claude Shannon y de Benjamin Schumacher. Contra la postura según la cual existen dos tipos de información de naturalezas diferentes, una información clásica y una información cuántica, aquí argumentamos que no hay razones suficientes para sostener la existencia de la información cuántica como un nuevo tipo sustancialmente distinto de información.…Read more
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13In this work we will deal only with the concept of information in the communicational context, in which information is primarily something that has to be transmitted for communication purposes. The aim of the paper is to consider some arguments traditionally put forward to support the idea that quantum information is qualitatively different than classical information. On the basis of the analysis of those arguments, we will conclude that there are no reasons to admit the existence of quantum inf…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Physics, Miscellaneous |
Philosophy of Chemistry |