Scientific Realism and the Quantum

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Most of us share the 'scientific realist' belief that science provides us knowledge of the microscopic world that is unobservable to our naked senses. We can't see or directly observe molecules, atoms, or electromagnetic fields -- never mind quarks or the Higgs boson! But advanced physics, with its well-confirmed theories and impressive experimental instruments, is typically portrayed (in the mass media for example) as providing knowledge of the true nature of fundamental reality. The aim of this project is to evaluate the credentials of this scientific realist attitude in the context of quantum physics. Scientific realism, although widely shared, commonsensical, and supported by the success of science, has been viewed by many as a justified attitude towards fundamental science. Equally many have stepped up in defence of realism, and the debate between scientific realists and anti-realists has raged in the philosophy of science since the late 70s. Like much of philosophy, the debate has been largely conducted in very general and abstract terms, quite independently of specific scientific detail. Philosophers have advanced increasingly sophisticated arguments both for and against scientific realism on the basis of general considerations (involving, for example, radical theory-shifts in the history of science, on the one hand, and the impressive instrumental, explanatory, and predictive success of science, on the other). Recently philosophers have started to acknowledge the limitations of such general arguments and the importance of case-specific scientific details. But such case-specific study of scientific realism has yet to be done in connection with one of our most advanced sciences: quantum physics. This project fills this gap by systematically reconsidering the arguments for and against scientific realism in the light of quantum physics, its history and its current state of play. To do this we bring together researchers from general philosophy of science and philosophy of physics for fruitful interaction. We examine, first of all, the various ways in which the actual details of quantum physics matter to the realism debate. More specifically, we conduct a comparative evaluation of existing arguments both for and against scientific realism in light of specific features of quantum physics, clearly pinning down the prospects and problems of these arguments in this particular context. We also consider the possibility of advancing novel arguments for and against realism in the context of quantum physics. Secondly, we evaluate the extent and status of our knowledge of the quantum world in light of the realism debate by examining, in relation to realist positions that are defensible in this context, what we can claim to know about the various features of reality described by quantum physics. (e.g. Can we know the nature of quantum particles and fields? Whether or not quantum wave function represents reality? Whether or not the world is indeterministic?) The project's wider significance derives from the cultural importance of the scientific knowledge claims at stake. To this end we aim to enhance the general public's appreciation of the philosophical issues challenging a face-value reading of fundamental physics, and we organise a series of workshops that bring the philosophical issues to the consciousness of A-level physics teachers and science journalists.