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PSA Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association

Quantum Field Theory for Philosophers

Michael L. G. Redhead

Published Jan 1, 1982• 58 citations
Publisher

Abstract

…the quantum theory of fields is the contemporary locus of metaphysical research. (Stein 1970, p. 285) It is now generally recognized that Quantum Field Theory (QFT), after many vicissitudes and a period of almost total neglect, has emerged during the last ten years as a triumphant framework in which to do elementary particle physics. If philosophers are prepared to use current physical theory as a guide to resolving metaphysical questions (and that is a big “If”), then QFT is what philosophers should all be studying. But the subject is notoriously.recondite, and philosophers are busy people, so the objective of the present paper is to cut through all technicalities and try to tell in as straightforward a way as possible just what QFT has to say about “reality”.

DOI
10.1086/psaprocbienmeetp.1982.2.192411

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…the quantum theory of fields is the contemporary locus of metaphysical research. (Stein 1970, p. 285) It is now generally recognized that Quantum Field Theory (QFT), after many vicissitudes and a period of almost total neglect, has emerged during the last ten years as a triumphant framework in which to do elementary particle physics. If philosophers are prepared to use current physical theory as a guide to resolving metaphysical questions (and that is a big “If”), then QFT is what philosophers should all be studying. But the subject is notoriously.recondite, and philosophers are busy people, so the objective of the present paper is to cut through all technicalities and try to tell in as straightforward a way as possible just what QFT has to say about “reality”.
Abstract Quantum field theory (QFT) is the union of quantum mechanics and Einstein’ s special theory of relativity. QFT is the most fundamental physical theory and provides the answers to questions about the basic structure of the physical world. However, the way QFT describes the world is so different from the way our senses present it to us that it requires an overhaul of philosophic categories and arguments. How can we know the microscopic world without a satisfactory measurement theory? What are the general conditions of the world that make possible such knowledge? What are the presuppositions of physical theories? Dr.Auyang argues that the current relational substantial debate on space-time is inadequate and the observer-observed distinction in quantum interpretations illusory because they are hampered by philosophical constructs too narrow to accommodate the complicated structures of modern philosophical theories. Modern physical theories have incorporated many presuppositions of empirical knowledge, and consequently the theories inform us about the general nature of the world and out relation to it, in addition to information about elementary particles. The conceptual structure of QFT is extracted and articulated in commonsense terms, and used to answer many longstanding philosophical questions.
This two-tier conference signals a new phase of philosophers' interest in quantum field theory, which has been growing noticeably in the last few years. However, some prominent physicists have shown their deep suspicions against ignorant philosophers' intrusion into their profession, and have expressed their hostility quite openly. In the philosophy community, some prominent philosophers of physics have also expressed their suspicions against the rationale of moving away from the profound foundational problems raised by Einstein and Bohr, Bohm and Bell, such as those concerning the nature of space-time and measurement, possibility and implications of hidden variables and nonlocality, and stepping into the technical complexity of quantum field theory, which is only an application of quantum mechanics in general without intrinsically distinct philosophical questions to be explored. In order to dispel these suspicions, it is desirable to highlight certain aspects of quantum field theory which require philosophical reflections and deserve further investigations. This discussion intends to suggest that philosophers can learn many important lessons from quantum field theory, and may be of some help in clarifying its conceptual foundations. At this stage of crisis that quantum field theory is experiencing now, the clarification may contribute to the radical transformation of our basic concepts in theoretical physics, which is necessary for a happy resolution of the crisis and the emergence of a new promising fundamental physical theory. Generally speaking, philosophers are interested in the metaphysical assumptions adopted by science and the world picture suggested by science.
Quantum field theory is a powerful language for the description of the subatomic constituents of the physical world and the laws and principles that govern them. This book contains up-to-date in-depth analyses, by a group of eminent physicists and philosophers of science, of our present understanding of its conceptual foundations, of the reasons why this understanding has to be revised so that the theory can go further, and of possible directions in which revisions may be promising and productive. These analyses will be of interest to graduate students and research workers in physics who want to know about the foundational problems of their subject. The book will also be of interest to professional philosophers, historians and sociologists of science, because it contains much material for metaphysical and methodological reflections, for historical and cultural analyses, and for sociological analyses of the way in which various factors contribute to the way the foundations are revised.
Abstract Much attention has been directed to the philosophical implications of quantum field theory (QFT) in recent years; this paper attempts a survey in low-technical terms. First the relations of QFT to other kinds of theory, classical and quantum, particle and field, are discussed. Then various formulations of QFT are introduced, along with related interpretations. Finally a review is made of some of the most interesting foundational problems. For our discussion of the foundations of quantum field theory (QFT) it will be useful to have a map showing where QFT stands in relation to other physical theories. Figure 1 locates theories as points of a three-dimensional lattice: describing particles or fields, formulated in different spacetimes and either classical or quantum. Consider the classical plane of Figure