2007

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http://hdl.handle.net/2003/25951

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We regret that we have to stop the edition of the Online Journal "Physics and Philosophy", due to lack of personal assistance, lack of financial support and problems to find referees.

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Scientific Realism in the Age of String Theory
(2007-09-16T12:04:33Z) Dawid, Richard
String theory currently is the only viable candidate for a unified description of all known natural forces. This article tries to demonstrate that the fundamental structural and methodological differences that set string theory apart from other physical theories have important philosophical consequences. Focusing on implications for the realism debate in philosophy of science, it is argued that both poles of that debate face new problems in the context of string theory. On the one hand, the claim of underdetermination of scientific theory by the available empirical data, which is a pivotal element of empiricism, loses much of its plausibility. On the other hand, the dissolution of any meaningful notion of an external ontological object destroys the basis for conventional versions of scientific realism. String theory seems to suggest an intermediate position akin to Structural Realism that is based on a newly emerging principle, to be called the principle of theoretical uniqueness.
Decoherence: An Introduction
(2007-07-25T13:31:58Z) Joos, Erich
In this paper I review the fundamentals of decoherence theory. Decoherence is viewed as a straightforward application of the general kinematical concept of a quantum wave function. Classical notions (such as ``particle") as well as secondary quantum concepts (such as ``observable'', superselection rule etc.) can be derived. Special emphasis is put on a precise and consistent interpretation of quantum states and processes.
The Controversial Universe
(2007-07-06T20:52:05Z) Kragh, Helge
The domain of cosmology is the universe, a singular concept, and basically for this reason cosmology is a science that differs from other sciences. For a long time there have been critical voices which argue that cosmology cannot be a proper science on par with, say, nuclear physics or hydrodynamics. This kind of critique goes a long way back in time, and I review it here in a historical perspective, focusing on the century from 1870 to 1970. I suggest that there are no good reasons to deny cosmology the status of a proper science. On the other hand, I also consider it natural, and a sign of health, that such foundational questions continue to be part of the cosmological discourse.
Quantum Logic versus Alternative Approaches
(2007-07-05T20:04:53Z) Mittelstaedt, Peter
In the present paper we will discuss the following problem: Is the external reality primarily a quantum world such that in macroscopic dimensions classical properties evolve by decoherence and emergency? -- Or is there only a classical, macroscopic world of apparatuses and observers, and what we can say about the quantum world is nothing but a consistent way of speaking which illustrates without any ontological commitments merely the formalism of quantum mechanics?
Einstein and the Laws of Physics
(2007-05-03T14:25:37Z) Weinert, Friedel
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of constraints in the theory of relativity and, in particular, what philosophical work they do for Einstein's views on the laws of physics. Einstein presents a view of local ``structure laws'' which he characterizes as the most appropriate form of physical laws. Einstein was committed to a view of science, which presents a synthesis between rational and empirical elements as its hallmark. If scientific constructs are free inventions of the human mind, as Einstein, held, the question arises how such rational constructs, including the symbolic formulation of the laws of physics, can represent physical reality. Representation in turn raises the question of realism. Einstein uses a number of constraints in the theory of relativity to show that by imposing constraints on the rational elements a certain ``fit'' between theory and reality can be achieved. Fit is to be understood as satisfaction of constraint. His emphasis on reference frames in the STR and more general coordinate systems in the GTR, as well as his emphasis on the symmetries of the theory of relativity suggests that Einstein's realism is akin to a certain form of structural realism. His version of structural realism follows from the theory of relativity and is independent of any current philosophical debates about structural realism.

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