Details

Subject(s)

• Ontology [Browse]
• Physics—Philosophy [Browse]
• Quantum field theory [Browse]
• Metaphysics [Browse]

Series

• Philosophische Analyse Bd. 37. [More in this series]
• Philosophische Analyse ; Bd. 37 = Philosophical analysis ; v. 37 [More in this series]

Medium/​Support

illustration http://rdaregistry.info/termList/IllusContent/1014 rdaill

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references.

Action note

Committed to retain in perpetuity — ReCAP Shared Collection (HUL)

Contents

• Machine generated contents note: I. Ontology and Quantum Field Theory
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Philosophical Background
• 2.1. Atomism in the History of Philosophy
• 2.2. Philosophical Versus Scientific Atomism
• 2.3. Atomism and Reductionism
• 3. Ontology and Physics
• 3.1. Some Main Themes in Ontology
• 3.2.A Brief History of Ontology
• 3.3. The Analytical Tradition of Ontology
• 3.4. No-Go Theorems as Tools for the Ontological Practician
• 3.5. Symmetries, Heuristics and Objectivity
• 4. History and Basic Structure of QFT
• 4.1. The Early Development
• 4.2. The Emergence of Infinities
• 4.3. The Taming of Infinities
• 4.4. The Lagrangian Formulation of QFT
• 4.5. Interaction
• 5. Alternative Approaches
• 5.1. Deficiencies of the Standard Formulation of QFT
• 5.2. The Algebraic Point of View
• 5.3. Basic Ideas of AQFT
• 6. The Ontological Significance of QFT and AQFT
• 6.1. QM Versus QFT
• 6.2. AQFT and the Ideal Language Philosophy
• 6.3. QFT Versus AQFT
• Note continued: 6.4. The Philosophical Interest in (A) QFT
• II. Classical Ontologies
• 7. Classical vs. Revisionary Ontologies
• 7.1. Introduction
• 7.2. Aristotle's Theory of Substances
• 7.3. Substance Ontologies
• 7.4. Substances Under Attack
• 7.5. Substance Ontology and Quantum Physics
• 7.5.1. Incompatible Observables
• 7.5.2. Non-Vanishing Vacuum Expectation Values
• 8. Particle Interpretation of QFT
• 8.1. The Particle Concept
• 8.1.1. General Features
• 8.1.2. Wigner's Analysis of the Poincare Group
• 8.2. Theory and Experiment in Elementary Particle Physics: Is a Particle Track a Track of a Particle?
• 8.3. Localization Problems
• 8.3.1. The Clash of Causality and Localizability
• 8.3.2. Locating the Origin of Non-Localizability: A Comparative Study
• A Comparative Study
• 8.4. Further Problems for a Particle Interpretation of QFT
• 8.5. Results
• 9. Field Interpretations of QFT
• 9.1. The Field Concept
• 9.2. Fields as Basic Entities of QFT
• Note continued: 9.2.1. The Role of Field Operators in QFT
• 9.2.2. Indirect Evidence for Fields
• 9.3. Fields Versus Algebras
• III. Revisionary Ontologies
• 10. Process Ontology
• 10.1. The Strands of Process Ontology
• 10.2. Why Process Ontology in QM and QFT?
• 10.3.A Case Study: Feynman Diagrams
• 10.4. Evaluation of the Case Study
• 10.5. Remaining Problems
• 11. Trope Ontology I: The Ontological Status of Properties
• 11.1. The Problem of Universals
• 11.2. The Traditional Responses
• 11.3.A New Solution: Trope Ontology
• 11.4. An Evaluation of the Debate
• 11.5. Conclusion and Outlook
• 12. Trope Ontology II: Properties and Things
• IV. The Trope Bundle Interpretation
• 13. Dispositional Trope Ontology
• 13.1. Introduction
• 13.2. Trope Bundles and Many-Particle Systems
• 13.2.1.`Elementary Particles'
• 13.2.2. Individuality of Quantum Objects
• 13.2.3. Dispositions and Tropes
• 13.2.4. An Example
• 13.3. The Trope Bundle Interpretation of AQFT
• Note continued: 13.3.1. AQFT as a Model of Trope Ontology
• 13.3.2. An Algebraic Argument for the Bundle Conception
• 13.3.3. Representations and Properties/Tropes
• 13.3.4. Outlook on Potential Problems and Further Work
• 13.3.5. The Explanatory Power of the Trope Bundle Interpretation
• 13.4. Summing Up
• V. Concluding Remarks
• 14. Physics and Philosophy
• 15. Summing Up
• 15.1. General Remarks
• 15.2.Comparision of Ontologies for QFT
• 15.2.1. Particles Versus Fields
• 15.2.2. Processes Versus Tropes
• 15.2.3. The Merits of Dispositional Trope Ontology
• VI. Appendices
• Abbreviations and Notation
• A. Special Relativity Theory: Some Notation and Required Results
• B. Ontologically Oriented Survey of Quantum Mechanics
• B.1. The Hilbert Space Formalism
• B.1.1. States and Observables
• B.1.2. Probability Interpretation
• B.1.3. Dynamics
• B.2. Problems for an Ontology of QM
• B.2.1. The Problem of Individuation
• B.2.2. The Problem of Reidentifiability
• Note continued: B.2.3. The Measurement Problem
• C. Advanced Foundational Topics in QFT
• C.1. Gauge Invariance
• C.2. Effective Field Theories and Renormalization
• C.3. String Theory
• D. Assumptions and Results of AQFT
• D.1. Assumptions of AQFT
• D.2. Representations and States
• D.3. Superselection Sectors.

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Other title(s)

In search of an ontology for fundamental physics

ISBN

9783868380729 (hd.bd.)

OCLC

566955349

RCP

H - S

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