September 2014 - philphysmunich

CFP: Time in Quantum Gravity, San Diego, 13-14 March 2015
by Christian Wüthrich Sept. 29, 2014

Sept. 29, 2014

CFP: Seminar on the Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Gravity 13-14 March 2015 – University of California, San Diego Invited Speakers: Alyssa Ney (Rochester) Daniele Oriti (MPI for Gravitational Physics, Golm) Amanda W Peet (Toronto) David Rideout (UCSD) Christian Wüthrich (UCSD) The investigation of quantum gravity has been central to theoretical physics for at least two decades, but philosophy has only engaged with this field in very a fragmentary way. Building on the first such meeting that took place in Chicago in September 2013, the purpose of this meeting is to continue to bring together people with research agendas in quantum gravity, to present their work and develop some common understanding of philosophical topics, questions, approaches, and solutions. Because the field is very new, many of those involved are near or recent PhDs – along with established scholars, they are encouraged to attend, to share their work or learn. We invite technically and philosophically informed presentations on any topics concerning the foundational implications for the nature of time of quantum gravity: for instance, could a theory do without time? What do quantum black holes reveal about the nature of causality? What is the relation between space and time in quantum gravity? What is the nature of dynamics in theories of quantum gravity? And so on. The paper presentations should be suitable for presentations in 30 minutes plus question period. Please submit an extended abstract of up to 1,000 words, together with the title of the talk. ABD graduate students or recent PhDs are particularly invited to submit abstracts. Deadline for papers and proposals: 15 October 2014 (decisions by 30 December 2014) – please prepare them for blind refereeing. We do not anticipate sharing refereeing comments. We will provide financial support of two kinds: • For speakers without access to institutional travel funds we will offer honoraria. Please indicate in your submission if you do not have access to institutional funds and would like to be considered for these honoraria. • For graduate students who cannot get their expenses covered through their institutions, we will offer bursaries. Recipients of these bursaries do not need to be speakers at the meeting. Please indicate in your submission or in a separate email if you qualify and would like to be considered for these bursaries. Direct correspondence to: beyondspacetimeseminar(a)gmail.com. For further information, please visit: http://beyondspacetime.net/ The organizers, Nick Huggett David Rideout Christian Wüthrich Funding Provided by the New Agendas for the Study of Time at the Center for Time at the University of Sydney.

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CfP: 1st Munich Graduate Workshop in Mathematical Philosophy: Philosophy of Physics (LMU Munich, 9 - 11 April 2015)
by Brian Padden Sept. 29, 2014

Sept. 29, 2014

********************************************* 1ST MUNICH GRADUATE WORKSHOP IN MATHEMATICAL PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS LMU Munich 9 - 11 April 2015 www.lmu.de/graduateworkshop2015 ********************************************* The Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP) is organizing the first Munich Graduate Workshop in Mathematical Philosophy, 9 - 11 April 2015. The workshop is intended for masters and doctoral students with interests in the philosophical foundations of physics. The program will feature student presentations, keynote lectures, and `working groups’ on advanced material at the forefront of contemporary research. We invite submissions of 1000 word extended abstracts together with a short abstract, motivation letter, CV and reference letter. The submission deadline is 1st December 2014 and notification of acceptance can be expected by 19th December. Please visit the website fore more details. KEYNOTE LECTURES: Harvey Brown (Oxford), Rüdiger Schack (London), Charlotte Werndl (Salzburg) INTERNAL LECTURES: Erik Curiel, Michael Cuffaro, Radin Dardashti, Samuel Fletcher, Paula Reichert, Karim Thébault ORGANIZERS: Brian Padden, Patricia Palacios, Karim Thébault *********************************************

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Winter Term 2014/5 Philosophy of Physics Reading Group
by Samuel Fletcher Sept. 12, 2014

Sept. 12, 2014

Dear Colleagues (with apologies for cross-posting), The philosophy of physics reading group in the winter term will meet biweekly on Tuesdays, starting 14 October, from 14:00-16:00, in E341 of the main university building: https://lsf.verwaltung.uni-muenchen.de/qisserver/rds?state=verpublish&statu… . We will focus on topics in the foundations of classical mechanics, especially different formulations of classical mechanics, their interrelations, and their physical and metaphysical presuppositions. As convener, I will send out a tentative syllabus around 7 October. Until then, potentially interested participants are encouraged to suggest stimulating papers. Best wishes, Sam Fletcher

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Call for Abstracts: Quantum Computation, Quantum Information, and the Exact Sciences
by Michael Cuffaro Sept. 7, 2014

Sept. 7, 2014

Call for Abstracts: Quantum Computation, Quantum Information, and the Exact Sciences == We invite submissions from both philosophers and scientists exploring the connections between the philosophy and foundations of quantum computation and quantum information theory (QCIT), and more traditional philosophical and foundational questions in physics, computer science, information theory, and mathematics. Envisioned topics for contributed papers include: QCIT's relevance for our understanding of the structure and axiomatics of quantum theory, QCIT's relevance for our understanding of physical conceptions of computation and/or information, alternative formalisms and mathematical frameworks for characterising QCIT, methodological differences and commonalities between QCIT and more traditional approaches to the exact sciences, and the metaphysical significance (or lack thereof) of the concepts and operational definitions of QCIT. This list is not exhaustive. Dates of the conference: January 30-31, 2015. Location: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany. Keynote speakers == Hans J. Briegel, University of Innsbruck, Austria and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria. Leah Henderson, Center for Formal Epistemology, Carnegie Mellon University, United States of America. Christopher Timpson, Brasenose College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Organizers: Michael Cuffaro (Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy), Samuel Fletcher (Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy), Johannes Kofler (Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics). Submissions == Submissions, consisting of one short (max. 100 word) and one extended (750-1000 word) abstract, will be double-blind reviewed and should be submitted through our automated submission system (EasyChair): https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=qcompinfo2015 Please prepare your submission for blind review by removing any identifying information from both your short and long abstract. Your short abstract should be pasted directly into the text box provided on the submission form. Your long abstract should be saved as a PDF document and uploaded via the "Upload a Paper" interface on the submission form. Do not tick the "Abstract Only" check box. Note: you will be able to revise your submission any number of times before the submission deadline. Submission deadline: November 14, 2014 at 11:55PM (GMT). Notification date: December 2, 2014. Registration fee (includes the price of the conference dinner): 50€ regular fee, 30€ for graduate students. The conference language is English. Website where more information on the conference will be posted soon: http://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/events/workshops/index.html Best regards, -- Michael Cuffaro Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 80539 München, Deutschland http://www.michaelcuffaro.com

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