On physics and philosophy / Bernard d'Espagnat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Espagnat, Bernard d', author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Physics--Philosophy.

Physics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (520 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2006]

Summary:

Among the great ironies of quantum mechanics is not only that its conceptual foundations seem strange even to the physicists who use it, but that philosophers have largely ignored it. Here, Bernard d'Espagnat argues that quantum physics--by casting doubts on once hallowed concepts such as space, material objects, and causality-demands serious reconsideration of most of traditional philosophy. On Physics and Philosophy is an accessible, mathematics-free reflection on the philosophical meaning of the quantum revolution, by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject. D'Espagnat presents an objective account of the main guiding principles of contemporary physics-in particular, quantum mechanics-followed by a look at just what consequences these should imply for philosophical thinking. The author begins by describing recent discoveries in quantum physics such as nonseparability, and explicating the significance of contemporary developments such as decoherence. Then he proceeds to set various philosophical theories of knowledge--such as materialism, realism, Kantism, and neo-Kantism--against the conceptual problems quantum theory raises. His overall conclusion is that while the physical implications of quantum theory suggest that scientific knowledge will never truly describe mind-independent reality, the notion of such an ultimate reality--one we can never access directly or rationally and which he calls "veiled reality"--remains conceptually necessary nonetheless.

Contents:

Part 1: Physical facts and related conceptual problems. Broad overview

Overstepping the limits of the framework of familiar concepts

Nonseparability and Bell's Theorem

Objectivity and empirical reality

Quantum physics and realism

Universal laws and the "reality" question

Antirealism and physics; the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen problem; methodological operationalism

Measurement and decoherence, universality revisited

Various realist attempts

Schrödinger's cat, Wigner's friend, and veiled reality

Part 2: A philosophical analysis. Science and philosophy

Materialisms

Suggestions from Kantism

Causality and observational predictability

Explanation and phenomena

Mind and things

Pragmatic-transcendental versus veiled reality approaches

Objects and consciousness

The "ground of things"

Appendix 1: The Bell Theorem

Appendix 2: Consistent histories, counterfactuality, and Bell's Theorem

Appendix 3: Correlation-at-a-distance in the Broglie-Bohm model.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [485]-491) and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: d'Espagnat, Bernard On Physics and Philosophy

ISBN:

9780691240237

OCLC:

1287135049