Interpreting Physics

Language and the Classical/Quantum Divide
2012
ISBN: 978-94-007-9576-1
Verlag: Springer Netherlands

Buch, Englisch, Band 289, 270 Seiten, Previously published in hardcover, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 435 g

Reihe: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science

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 mathematical and physical concepts leads to the classical/quatum interface. Bohrian orthodoxy stresses the indispensability of classical concepts and the functional role of mathematics. This book analyses ways of extending, and then going beyond this orthodoxy orthodoxy. Finally, the book analyzes how a revised interpretation of physics impacts on basic philosophical issues: conceptual revolutions, realism, and reductionism.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mackinnon, Edward

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Philosophie der Mathematik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie der Mathematik, Philosophie der Physik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface.- 1. A Philosphical Overview.- 2. From Categories to Quantative Concepts,- 3. The Unification of Classical Physics.- 4. Classical Physics.- 5. Orthodox Quantum Mechanics.- 6. Beyond a Minimal Basis.- 7. Interpreting Physics.