The Ultimate Constituents of the Material World: In Search of an Ontology for Fundamental Physics (Philosophische Analyse / Philosophical Analysis, 37)

Today, quantum field theory (QFT)the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physicsis the best starting point for analysing the fundamental building blocks of the material world. QFT if taken seriously in its metaphysical implications yields a picture of the world that is at variance with central classical conceptions. The core of Kuhlmanns investigation consists in the analysis of various ontological interpretations of QFT, e.g. substance ontologies as well as a process-ontological approach. Eventually, Kuhlmann proposes a dispositional trope ontology, according to which particularized properties and not things are the most basic entities, in terms of which all other entities are to be analysed, e.g as bundles of properties. This book was chosen for the 2009 ontos-Award for research on analytical ontology and metaphysics by the German Society for Analytical Philosophy. Die Reihe bietet ein Publikationsforum fr innovative Arbeiten zu allen Themengebieten der analytischen Philosophie. Die Bnde in dieser Reihe erscheinen in deutscher oder englischer Sprache. Part I Ontology and Quantum Field Theory Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Philosophical Background 2.1 Atomism in the History of Philosophy 2.2 Philosophical Versus Scientific Atomism 2.3 Atomism and Reductionism Chapter 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 Chapter 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 Chapter 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 Chapter 6 The Ontological Significance of QFTand AQFT 6.1 QM Versus QFT 6.2 AQFT and the Ideal Language Philosophy 6.3 QFT Versus AQFT 6.4 The Philosophical Interest in (A)QFT Part II Classical Ontologies Chapter 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 Chapter 8 Particle Interpretation of QFT 8.1 The Particle Concept 8.1.1 General Features 8.1.2 Wigner’s Analysis of the Poincar ́e 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 8.4 Further Problems for a Particle Interpretation of QFT 8.5 Results Chapter 9 Field Interpretations of QFT 9.1 The Field Concept 9.2 Fields as Basic Entities of QFT 9.2.1 The Role of Field Operators in QFT 9.2.2 Indirect Evidence for Fields 9.3 Fields Versus Algebras Part III Revisionary Ontologies Chapter 10 Process Ontology 10.1 The Strands of Process Ontology 10.2 Why Process Ontology in QM and QFT? 10.3 A Case Study: Consequences of the Ontological Hypotheses for the Interpretation of Feynman Diagrams 10.4 Evaluation of the Case Study 10.5 Remaining Problems Chapter 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 Chapter 12 Trope Ontology II: Properties and Things Part IV The Trope Bundle Interpretation Chapter 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 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 Part V Concluding Remarks Chapter 14 Physics and Philosophy Chapter 15 Summing Up 15.1 General Remarks 15.2 Comparison 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 Part VI Appendices Abbreviations and Notation Appendix A Special Relativity Theory: Some Notation and Required Results Appendix 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 B.2.3 The Measurement Problem Appendix C Advanced Foundational Topics in QFT C.1 Gauge Invariance C.2 Effective Field Theories and Renormalization C.3 String Theory Appendix D Assumptions and Results of AQFT D.1 Assumptions of AQFT D.2 Representations and States D.3 Superselection Sectors Bibliography Physics Glossary Philosophy Glossary Main description: Today, quantum field theory (QFT)-the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physics-is the best starting point for analysing the fundamental building blocks of the material world. QFT if taken seriously in its metaphysical implications yields a picture of the world that is at variance with central classical conceptions. The core of Kuhlmann's investigation consists in the analysis of various ontological interpretations of QFT, e.g. substance ontologies as well as a process-ontological approach. Eventually, Kuhlmann proposes a dispositional trope ontology, according to which particularized properties and not things are the most basic entities, in terms of which all other entities are to be analysed, e.g as bundles of properties. This book was chosen for the 2009 ontos-Award for research on analytical ontology and metaphysics by the German Society for Analytical Philosophy

Die Reihe bietet ein Publikationsforum für innovative Arbeiten zu allen Themengebieten der analytischen Philosophie. Die Bände in dieser Reihe erscheinen in deutscher oder englischer Sprache.