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lecture on tangent-bundle geometry today
by Erik Curiel Dec. 13, 2014

Dec. 13, 2014

I'm sorry to say I think I need to cancel the tangent-bundle geometry lecture today. It's taking me much longer than I had anticipated to prepare my talk for tomorrow, so I think I need the time to finish that. So I'll cover more of the background tangent-bundle geometry in my talk tomorrow. Hope to see you there! E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Ludwigstraße 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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alain connes talk tomorrow
by Erik Curiel Dec. 10, 2014

Dec. 10, 2014

Alain Connes, the great mathematician and mathematical physicist (winner of the Fields medal, inventor of non-commutative geometry), is giving a talk tomorrow in the physics department on "Quanta of Geometry". (See attached flyer.) Connes is not only one of the greatest living mathematicians, but he is an extraordinarily lively, lucid and engaging speaker. (He is the guy who told me the best way to listen to talks about black holes.) I strongly urge everyone to go. It should be a fascinating talk. Erik

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saturday lecture on tangent-bundle geometry
by Erik Curiel Dec. 9, 2014

Dec. 9, 2014

There is definitely enough interest to warrant my giving the lecture on tangent-bundle geometry, on Saturday. So, I propose to give the lecture starting at 16:30, Saturday, Dec. 13, in Ludwigstr. 31 (the MCMP building), in room 021, the standard seminar/lecture/colloquium room on the ground floor. I estimate the session will last about an hour and a half, so anyone who is interested could head out for beers, dinner, etc., afterward. Please forward this announcement to anyone who may be coming to town to attend the workshop on Sunday but is not on the philphysmunich email list, or just to anyone you think may be interested. E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Ludwigstraße 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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Talk (Dec.10) and Workshop (Dec.14) at the MCMP
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 8, 2014

Dec. 8, 2014

Speaker: Meinard Kuhlmann (Mainz) Date: Wed., December 10 Location: Ludwigstr. 31, ground floor, room 021 Time: 18:15 - 19:45 Title: A Trope Bundle Interpretation of Algebraic Quantum Field Theory Abstract: Algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT) is a conceptually lucid reformulation of the conventional theory of quantum fields. I consider AQFT to be the appropriate starting point for ontological considerations about QFT because, like the philosophical discipline of ontology, AQFT strives for a clear, justified and parsimonious separation of basic and derived classes of entities. I argue that the one-category theory of particularized properties or 'tropes', which analyses all other entities in terms of the basic category of tropes, yields the most appropriate ontological reading of AQFT. Among other things I will show that trope ontology and AQFT have essential structural similarities. I argue in particular that the trope-ontological conception of objects as bundles of tropes is related to the pivotal net structure of observable algebras in AQFT. Eventually, I show that the identification of trope-like entities in AQFT is best achieved via the notion of representations in the algebraic theory of superselection sectors, where the notion of inequivalent irreducible representations allows for a neat distinction of essential and non-essential properties/tropes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Irvine-Munich Workshop on the Foundations of Classical and Quantum Field Theories Date: Sun., December 14 Location: Ludwigstr. 31, ground floor, room 021 Time: 09:00 - 18:30 Since its introduction in the nineteenth century, the concept of a field as an independent physical entity has become central to modern physics. Many highly successful classical theories, most notably electromagnetism and gravitation, were reformulated along field-theoretic lines, leading to advances in the understanding of their respective subject matters as well as enriching knowledge of field theory itself. The great development of these classical field theories influenced the founders of quantum mechanics, with the subsequent formulation of quantum field theories providing molds from which the Standard Model of particle physics has been cast. Yet the profound difficulties of finding a quantum field theory that incorporates gravitation have forced physicists and philosophers to confront the foundations of field theory with more scrutiny. While the multifaceted nature of the difficulties with quantum field theory may have reopened inquiry into classical field theories in hopes of finding potent analogies, this study has developed a rich life of its own. This workshop brings together communities of researchers working from different viewpoints on the foundations of both classical and quantum field theory. For more information visit: http://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/events/workshops/container/foun…

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possible pre-field-theories-workshop lecture on tangent-bundle geometry
by Erik Curiel Dec. 8, 2014

Dec. 8, 2014

If people are interested, I would be happy to give a 1-2 hour exposition on Saturday afternoon, the day before the "Irvine-Munich Workshop on the Foundations of Classical and Quantum Field Theories", covering the basics of the geometry of tangent bundles. I offer this for both selfish and altruistic reasons. Selfishly, the more knowledgeable the audience is about this stuff, the less time I will have to spend in my actual talk on Sunday reviewing it. Altruistically, it is a beautiful field of geometry that is woefully unknown among philosophers, physicists and mathematicians in general, especially shameful in light of the fact that it is the basis for Lagrangian mechanics, and I feel it is my duty to spread the Good Word. So: if you're interested, please let me know. If there is a critical mass of interested people (say, 4 or more), then I'll do it, and send out a general announcement with time and place. E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Ludwigstraße 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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IPP2015
by Brian Padden Dec. 5, 2014

Dec. 5, 2014

Dear Munich Philosophers of Physics, Just wanted to send out a notice about the Irvine-Pittsburgh-Princeton conference this year. The website is here: https://sites.google.com/a/princeton.edu/ipp-conference/ It’s a great conference, but the deadline is coming up quickly, on Dec. 10. All the best, Brian Padden

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100 years of General Relativity: On the foundations of spacetime theories
by Wolfgang Pietsch Dec. 4, 2014

Dec. 4, 2014

At the occasion of the centenary of the general theory of relativity, The Working Group Philosophy of Physics (AGPhil) of the German Physical Society (DPG) invites submissions for a conference entitled 100 years of General Relativity: On the foundations of spacetime theories. Papers focusing on the conceptual and historical foundations of general relativity and other spacetime theories are especially welcome. The conference will take place at the Technical University Berlin from March 18 to 20, 2015, and will be part of the Annual Meeting of the DPG. The AGPhil hosts a joint plenary talk and a joint symposium with the DPG sections for gravitation, history of physics, and theoretical and mathematical physics; all of these will also organise additional workshops and conferences at the TU Berlin during the annual meeting. The keynote speakers of the AGPhil conference will be Harvey Brown, Diana Buchwald, Craig Callender, Marco Giovanelli, Oliver Pooley, Juergen Renn and Tilman Sauer. Although submissions on any topic in the philosophy of physics are possible, contributions addressing the foundations of spacetime theories are especially welcome. If you would like to present a paper, please submit an abstract of about 200 words by January 4, 2015, using the online-form at https://www.dpg-tagung.de/b15/submission.html . We look forward to seeing you in Berlin! Best regards, Meinard Kuhlmann, Dennis Lehmkuhl and Wolfgang Pietsch -------------- Dr. Wolfgang Pietsch Lehrstuhl für Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie Munich Center for Technology in Society Technische Universität München Arcisstr. 21 D-80333 München, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)89 . 289 25366

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Talk by Radin Dardashti at MCMP (4th Dec.)
by Karim Thébault Dec. 2, 2014

Dec. 2, 2014

Speaker: Radin Dardashti (MCMP) Thursday 4th Dec. 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 31 room 021 Time: 12.15 - 13.45 Title: The No Alternative Argument and the Problem of Establishing Non-empirical Evidence Abstract: In a recent paper <http://bjps.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/03/26/bjps.axt045.abstract> Dawid, Hartmann and Sprenger have proven within a Bayesian framework the following rough statement: the fact of knowing that there is no alternative theory to one's theory, at a given time and despite considerable effort, confirms the theory. The fact that there are no alternatives to one's theory is considered as non-empirical evidence. The aim of this paper is to analyse how one can establish non-empirical evidence of this kind and its applicability to theories which are currently empirically inaccessible. I will consider two, as I argue, related problems to establish non-empirical evidence, namely the problem of theory individuation and the problem-determination problem and discuss two possible conclusions one can draw _______________________________________________ philphysmunich mailing list philphysmunich(a)lists.lrz.de https://lists.lrz.de/mailman/listinfo/philphysmunich

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Talks by Renato Renner (Nov. 17), Michael Stoeltzner (Nov. 19), and Chris Fuchs (Nov. 20) at LMU next week
by Michael Cuffaro Nov. 25, 2014

Nov. 25, 2014

Speaker: Renato Renner (ETH Zürich) Date: Monday, 17 November 2014 Location: H030, Fakultät für Physik der LMU, Schellingstr. 4 Time: 17:15 - 19:00 Title: Is the wave function in one-to-one correspondence with reality? Abstract: The old question (considered already by Einstein) whether the quantum-mechanical wave function represents "reality" has recently attracted renewed interest. Amazingly, modern approaches inspired by Quantum Information Theory can provide answers. In my talk, I will provide an overview on them, focusing on a recent result that establishes a one-to-one correspondence between the wave function and the “elements of reality”. --------------------------------------- Speaker: Michael Stoeltzner (University of South Carolina/CAS/MCMP) Date: Wednesday, November 19 2014. Location: Ludwigstr. 31, ground floor, room 021 Time: 16:15 - 18:00 Title: The Varieties of Explanation in the Higgs Sector Abstract: I argue that there is no single universal conception of scientific explanation that is consistently employed throughout Higgs physics – ranging from the successful search for a standard model (SM) Higgs particle and the hitherto unsuccessful searches beyond it, to phenomenological model builders in the Higgs sector and theoretical physicists interested in the Higgs mechanism. But the coexistence of deductive-statistical, unificationist, model-based, and statistical-relevance explanations does not amount to a fragmentation of the discipline, but allows elementary particle physicists to simultaneously pursue a plurality of research strategies and keep the field together by joint convictions about the SM and shared explanatory ideals. Most importantly, the SM represents both a successful explanation and contains aspects in need of further explanation. Such explanatory ideals typically appear as stories or narratives motivating the different models and linking them to the whole of the discipline. --------------------------------------- Speaker: Chris Fuchs (University of Massachusetts at Boston) Date: Thursday, November 20, 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 31, ground floor, room 021 Time: 18:15 - 20:00 Title: QBism, a Subjective Way to Take Ontic Indeterminism Dead Seriously Abstract: The term QBism, invented in 2009, initially stood for Quantum Bayesianism, a view of quantum theory a few of us had been developing since 1993. Eventually, however, I. J. Good's warning that there are 46,656 varieties of Bayesianism came to bite us, with some Bayesians feeling their good name had been hijacked. David Mermin suggested that the B in QBism should more accurately stand for "Bruno", as in Bruno de Finetti, so that we would at least get the variety of (subjective) Bayesianism right. The trouble is QBism incorporates a kind of metaphysics that even Bruno de Finetti might have rejected! So, trying to be as true to our story as possible, we momentarily toyed with the idea of associating the B with what Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. called bettabilitarianism. It is the idea that the world is loose at the joints, that indeterminism plays a real role in the world. In the face of such a world, what is an active agent to do but /participate/ in the uncertainty that is all around him? As Louis Menand put it, "We cannot know what consequences the universe will attach to our choices, but we can bet on them, and we do it every day." This is what QBism says quantum theory is about: How to best place bets on the consequences of our actions in this quantum world. But what an ugly, ugly word, "bettabilitarianism"! Therefore, maybe one should just think of the B as standing for no word in particular, but a deep idea instead: That the world is so wired that our actions as active agents actually /matter/. Our actions and their consequences are not eliminable epiphenomena. In this talk, I will describe QBism as it presently stands and give some indication of the many things that remain to be developed. NOTE that Chris Fuchs' talk will follow one by Joseph Berkovitz (University of Toronto) on "A New Interpretation of De Finetti’s Theory of Subjective Probability" from 16:00 - 18:00 (more details at: http://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/events/calendar/index.html)

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Re: Winter Term 2014/5 Philosophy of Physics Reading Group
by Fletcher, Samuel Nov. 24, 2014

Nov. 24, 2014

Dear Colleagues (with apologies for cross-posting), This is just a reminder that the first meeting of the philosophy of physics reading group will be 14 October. The first reading will be the extended version of Mark Wilson's "What is 'Classical Mechanics' Anyway?" which is forthcoming in his anthology "Physics Avoidance and other Essays". (An abridged version appeared in "The Oxford Handbook in Philosophy of Physics", edited by R. Batterman.) You can access the essay here: http://www.philosophy.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/whatisclassicalmechanics… Although it is not technical, the article is long and Wilson's unique writing style demands close attention. Thus I'd recommend starting a bit earlier in order to be prepared for the 14th. I'll lead discussion that day. I'd like to ask at the outset, though, whether everyone would be interested in extending the discussion of the topic into the summer term. Currently, we have 7 meetings planned for this term, which will make it difficult to cover a great many of the topics in which you've expressed interest. With the summer term I estimate we can have another 6 meetings. Please let me know if you have an opinion on this one way or another. If general opinion is overwhelming in one direction or another, I'll finalize the syllabus for the rest of the meetings and send it out. Otherwise we'll make a decision during the first meeting. Best wishes, ~Sam On 2014-09-29 15:40, Fletcher, Samuel wrote: > 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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