THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS Munich Center For Mathematical Philosophy, LMU Munich 01-02 Sep 2017 http://www.secondlaw2017.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/ ********************************************* The attempt to understand the Second Law of thermodynamics occupies a central role in the foundations of physics: not only is it of great importance in its own right, but it also ramifies into a host of other problems of fundamental physical and philosophical import, from the arrow of time and the nature of spacetime to issues of probability, causality, predictability, and determinism, and even to the nature of memory and agency. This will be the first major conference since the 1950s to address all foundational issues associated with the Second Law, and to try to examine how they all bear on each other. Invited physicists and philosophers will be chosen to represent issues pertaining to the Second Law from many different fields in physics and philosophy (classical thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, quantum field theory, gravity), in an attempt to foster a dialogue among those addressing problems associated with the Second Law in the different fields. Such a gathering will spur new, innovative approaches to the problem, as well as connecting and invigorating work on existing approaches. It will also provide young researchers with a comprehensive introduction to the state of the art of this central field of research, and established researchers with a comprehensive overview. Specific questions we want the conference to address include (but are not limited to): 1. What is the nature of the Second Law as a physical principle? 2. What connection, if any, does the Second Law have to the idea of the arrow (or arrows) of time? 3. Can the Second Law be derived from statistical mechanics? 4. What is the nature of entropy as a physical quantity? 5. How does the Second Law bear on the possibility of prediction and retrodiction, and on approaches to a proper understanding of causality, modality, and probability? 6. How does the Second Law bear on the ideas of memory and agency? 7. What can we learn from the historical treatment of the Second Law? 8. What role, if any, can the Second Law have in quantum theory? Does the proper analysis of the Second Law require quantum mechanics? 9. Given the centrality of black-hole thermodynamics in contemporary theoretical physics, how ought we to understand the claim that black holes are thermodynamical objects, and what may that tell us about the nature of spacetime? ********************************************* CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: We invite the submission of paper abstracts for the conference. Abstracts should include a title, a brief abstract (up to 200 words), and a full abstract (up to 1000 words), blinded for peer review. They should be PDF files, submitted to the conference's EasyChair account (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=seclaw2017). We will select 4 submissions for presentation at the conference. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: 01 May 2017 DATE OF NOTIFICATION: 31 May 2017 We plan to publish the proceedings of the conference as a special issue of a leading journal (e.g., *Foundations of Physics*). Depending on the funding situation, it is likely that the conference organizers will be able to partly subsidize the traveling and accommodation costs for those whose submitted abstracts are accepted, or even to cover all costs. This will be determined by the end of the summer. We are committed to fostering diversity and equality in our programs. Submissions from underrepresented groups are particularly welcome. The conference will be organized and run under the MCMP's code of conduct (http://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/events/event-policy/index.html). ********************************************* INVITED SPEAKERS: * Alison Fernandes (Pitt/Warwick) * Robert Geroch (Chicago) * Giovanni Valente (Pitt/MCMP, LMU Munich) * Aron Wall (Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton/Stanford) * David Wallace (University of Southern California) * Charlotte Werndl (Salzburg) ********************************************* REGISTRATION: Please send registration requests by 15 Aug 2017 to the co-organizer Neil Dewar (neil.dewar@lrz.uni-muenchen.de). The email should have the subject: "register second law" and contain your name and affiliation as you would like it to appear on your conference name-tag. Also please indicate whether you plan to attend the conference dinner (01 Sep, 2017). The fees for the conference and dinner are as follows. Senior researchers with permanent positions (associate and full professors, etc.): conference fee EUR 40 Junior researchers (assistant professors, post-docs, etc.): conference fee EUR 15; dinner EUR 25 Students (masters, doctoral, etc.): no conference fee Cost for conference dinner (everyone): EUR 30 ********************************************* PROGRAM COMMITTEE: Harvey Brown (Oxford), Craig Callender (UCSD), Erik Curiel (MCMP, LMU Munich), Neil Dewar (MCMP, LMU Munich), Alison Fernandes (Pitt/Warwick), Robert Geroch (Chicago), Leah Henderson (Groningen), Patricia Palacios (MCMP, LMU Munich), Jos Uffink (Minnesota), Giovanni Valente (Pitt/MCMP, LMU Munich), Aron Wall (Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton/Stanford), David Wallace (University of Southern California), Charlotte Werndl (Salzburg) ********************************************* Please direct any inquiry to the co-organizers: Erik Curiel (erik.curiel@lmu.de) and Neil Dewar (neil.dewar@lrz.uni-muenchen.de) -- Erik Curiel http://strangebeautiful.com Assistant Professor Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Ludwigstraße 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de BHI Research Fellow Black Hole Initiative Harvard University 20 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 USA http://bhi.fas.harvard.edu