Forces/Interactions and Fields: Toward a Metaphysics of the Actual World

力/相互作用和场：走向现实世界的形而上学

• 批准号: 0327550
• 负责人: Gordon Kane
• 金额: $ 7.31万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-09-01 至 2004-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0327550&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Forces; Interactions; Fields; Toward; Metaphysics

Project AbstractSES 0327550Gordon Kane, University of Michigan"Forces/Interactions and Fields: Toward a Metaphysics of the Actual World"Metaphysical debates often proceed with little attention to contemporary scientific concepts, hypotheses and methodology. The co-PI's past research into physicalism and emergentism shows that philosophers cannot always afford this neglect, for viably formulating these metaphysical theses requires appeal, first, to the notion of a fundamental force or interaction; and second, (insofar as fundamental forces/interactions are standardly taken to be systems of interacting fields) to the notion of a field. More generally, our best-confirmed scientific theories are field theories; yet with few exceptions (including Sunny Auyang, Tian Cao, and Paul Teller) philosophers have not engaged the task of working out the presuppositions and entailments of a field metaphysics, and metaphysical debates commonly presuppose the sort of atomistic metaphysics associated with Democritus and Hume.This proposal aims to give the co-PI the scientific understanding necessary to help correct this neglect. The first component consists in studying advanced physics at the University of Michigan, under the committed guidance of Gordon Kane, an eminent physicist working on super-symmetric extensions of quantum field theory. The course of study will consist in auditing several graduate courses in modern physics, supplemented by directed study of additional texts on gauge theories and quantum field theory, coupled with weekly meetings with Kane addressing the technical and conceptual foundations of contemporary physics.The second component of the proposal consists in applying physics training to projects in fundamental ontology (especially as pertaining to a field metaphysics), and disseminating the results in metaphysics and philosophy of science journals. Relevant papers include "The Particular Nature of the Quantum Field" and "The Reality of Non-field Particulars on a Field Metaphysics". More broadly, the co-PI will explore the impact of the concepts of force/interaction and field on metaphysical debates concerning causality, laws and modality. Since these debates tend to proceed under the atomistic principle that there are no necessary (ontological or causal) connections in nature (which principle is undermined from the perspective of a scientifically-informed field metaphysics), the proposed research is of considerable potential impact. The proposal also strikes a triple-blow for gender equality in three of the most male-dominated areas of the academy: physics, foundational metaphysics, and philosophy of physics.

项目摘要密歇根大学戈登·凯恩的《力/相互作用和场：走向现实世界的形而上学》的形而上学辩论通常很少关注当代科学概念、假设和方法论。共同派过去对物理主义和涌现论的研究表明，哲学家不能总是承受得起这种忽视，因为要生动地形成这些形而上学的论点，首先需要诉诸基本力或相互作用的概念；其次(只要基本力/相互作用被标准地视为相互作用场的系统)，就需要对场的概念进行上诉。更广泛地说，我们证实得最好的科学理论是场论；然而，除了少数例外(包括桑尼·奥杨、田曹和保罗·泰勒)，哲学家们并没有从事解决场形上学的前提和蕴涵的任务，而形而上学的辩论通常预先假定了与德莫克里特和休谟有关的那种原子论形而上学。这一提议旨在给予共同派必要的科学理解，以帮助纠正这种忽视。第一部分包括在密歇根大学学习高级物理学，在戈登·凯恩的坚定指导下，戈登·凯恩致力于量子场论的超对称扩展。研究课程将包括审计几门现代物理学的研究生课程，辅以对规范理论和量子场论的额外文本的定向研究，以及每周与凯恩举行的会议，讨论当代物理的技术和概念基础。该提案的第二个组成部分包括将物理培训应用于基础本体论(特别是与场形而上学有关)的项目，并在科学期刊的形而上学和哲学上传播结果。相关论文包括《量子场的特殊性质》和《场形而上学上的非场细节的现实性》。更广泛地说，联合PI将探索力/相互作用和场的概念对关于因果关系、定律和情态的形而上学辩论的影响。由于这些辩论往往是在原子论原则下进行的，即自然界中没有必要的(本体论或因果)联系(从科学知识领域形而上学的角度来看，这一原则受到了破坏)，拟议的研究具有相当大的潜在影响。该提案还对该学院男性占主导地位的三个领域的性别平等造成了三重打击：物理学、基础形而上学和物理哲学。