Metaphysical Perspectives on Contemporary Physics

Where:  Room B112.D, Library Building

When: Thursday October 17 from 14:00–19:00 and Friday October 18 from 10:00–15:30

This workshop presents a selection of metaphysical and foundational issues that arise in connections with modern physical theories. The main focus is on the metaphysical aspects of quantum mechanics, including such topics as the stochastic interpretation of quantum field theory, the relation between scientific realism and the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, perspectivism in general philosophy of science and in quantum mechanics, permutation-invariance of quantum theory. Other issues discussed in the workshop are: the relation between determinism and epistemic incompleteness, non-standard cosmology and metaphysical infinitism, and the use of partial structures in ontic structural realism.

Thursday, October 17:

14:00–15:00 Hans C. Öttinger (ETH Zürich) – Stochastic bra-ket interpretation of quantum mechanics based on quantum field theory

15:00–16:00 Kian Salimkhani (Radboud University) – The Non-Fundamentality of Spacetime

16:00–16:30 Coffee Break

16:30–17:30 Valia Allori (University of Bergamo) – Against the Measurement Problem: On the Incompatibility between Scientific Realism and Quantum Mechanics

17:30–18:30 Quentin Ruyant (University of Lisbon) – Perspectivism, Concrete and Abstract

Friday, October 18:

10:00–11:00 Matteo Morganti (University of Rome 3) – Non-Standard Cosmology and Metaphysical Infinitism. A Case Study in Naturalistic Metaphysics

11:00–12:00 Jennan Ismael (Johns Hopkins University) – Determinism and Incompleteness

12:00–13:30 Lunch & Coffee Break

13:30–14:30 Tomasz Bigaj (University of Warsaw) – Symmetries and qualitative indistinguishability

14:30–15:30 Raoni Arroyo (Universidade Estadual de Campinas) – OSR shouldn’t use partial structures anymore

 

Organizers:

Andrea Oldofredi (University of Lisbon)

Tomasz Bigaj (University of Warsaw)