Identity in Physics

A Historical, Philosophical, and Formal Analysis
Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-19-957563-3
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 440 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 664 g

Can quantum particles be regarded as individuals, just like books, tables and people? According to the 'received' view - articulated by several physicists in the immediate aftermath of the quantum revolution - quantum physics itself tells us they cannot: quantum particles, unlike their classical counterparts, must be regarded as 'non-individuals' in some sense. However, recent work has indicated that this is not the whole story and that the theory is also consistent with the position that such particles can be taken to be individuals, albeit at a metaphysical price.
Drawing on philosophical accounts of identity and individuality, as well as the histories of both classical and quantum physics, the authors explore these two alternative metaphysical packages. In particular, they argue that if quantum particles are regarded as individuals, then Leibniz's famous Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles is in fact violated. Recent discussions of this conclusion are analysed in detail and, again, the costs involved in saving the Principle are carefully considered.
Taking the alternative package, the authors deploy recent work in non-standard logic and set theory to indicate how we can make sense of the idea that objects can be non-individuals. The concluding chapter suggests how these results might then be extended to quantum field theory.
Identity in Physics brings together a range of work in this area and further develops the authors' own contributions to the debate. Uniquely, as the title indicates, it situates this work in the appropriate formal, historical, and philosophical contexts.

Zielgruppe

Scholars and students of philosophy of physics; physicists

Autoren/Hrsg.

French, Steven

Krause, Decio

Krause, Décio

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Quantenphysik
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein Geschichte der Physik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1: Introduction
2: Individuality in Classical Physics
3: Quantum Statistics and Non-Individuality
4: Individuality and Non-Individuality in Quantum Mechanics
5: Names, Nomological Objects, and Quasets
6: A Problem for Present Day Mathematics
7: The Mathematics of Non-Individuality
8: Non-Reflexive Quantum Logics
9: The Logic of Quanta

Über Autor(innen)

Steven French is Professor of the Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds

Décio Krause is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil