Diederik Aerts, Jonas R. B. Arenhart, Christian de Ronde, and Giuseppe Sergioli (eds.). 2023. Probing the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics: Probability, Metaphysics, Explanation and Measurement. World Scientific.

Description

Quantum theory is perhaps our best confirmed theory for a description of the physical properties of nature. On top of demonstrating great empirical effectiveness, many technological developments in the 20th century (such as the interpretation of the periodic table of elements, CD players, holograms, and quantum state teleportation) were only made possible with Quantum theory.

Despite its success in the past decades, even today it still remains without a universally accepted interpretation.

This book provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the question; "What is Quantum Mechanics talking about?", a question which continues to be one of the most fascinating and important questions in science.

Using an interdisciplinary approach to foundational problems in Quantum Mechanics (QM), ranging from philosophical questions about the interpretation of QM to technical problems in quantum computation, this book explores quantum mechanics from different perspectives (physical, logical, philosophical and mathematical), by researchers from Europe, North America, and South America.

Jonas R. Becker Arenhart and Raoni Wohnrath Arroyo (Eds.). 2023. Non-Reflexive Logics, Non-Individuals, and the Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: Essays in Honour of the Philosophy of Décio Krause. Cham: Springer.

Description

This book discusses the philosophical work of Décio Krause. Non-individuality, as a new metaphysical category, was thought to be strongly supported by quantum mechanics. No one did more to promote this idea than the Brazilian philosopher Décio Krause, whose works on the metaphysics and logic of non-individuality are now widely regarded as part of the consolidated literature on the subject. This volume brings together chapters elaborating on the ideas put forward and defended by Krause, developing them in many different directions, commenting on aspects not completely developed so far, and, more importantly, critically addressing their current formulations and defenses by Krause himself. Given that Krause’s ideas do connect directly and indirectly with a wide array of subjects, such as the philosophy of quantum mechanics, more broadly understood, the philosophy of logic and logical philosophy, non-classical logics, metaphysics, and ontology, this volume contains important material for the research on logic and foundations of science, broadly understood. All the invited contributors have already worked with the ideas developed by Décio (some of them still work with them), being also distinct authors and extremely relevant in their areas of expertise. The volume is aimed at philosophers, including those of physics and quantum mechanics.

Otávio Bueno and Scott A. Shalkowski (Eds.). 2021. The Routledge Handbook of Modality. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315742144

Description

Modality - the question of what is possible and what is necessary - is a fundamental area of philosophy and philosophical research. The Routledge Handbook of Modality is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into seven clear parts:

• worlds and modality

• essentialism, ontological dependence, and modality

• modal anti-realism

• epistemology of modality

• modality in science

• modality in logic and mathematics

• modality in the history of philosophy.

Within these sections the central issues, debates and problems are examined, including possible worlds, essentialism, counterfactuals, ontological dependence, modal fictionalism, deflationism, the integration challenge, conceivability, a priori knowledge, laws of nature, natural kinds, and logical necessity.

The Routledge Handbook of Modality is essential reading for students and researchers in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language. It will also be very useful for those in related fields in philosophy such as philosophy of mathematics, logic and philosophy of science.

Steven French and Juha Saatsi (Eds.). 2020. Scientific Realism and the Quantum. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Description

Quantum theory is widely regarded as one of the most successful theories in the history of science. It explains a hugely diverse array of phenomena and is a natural candidate for our best representation of the world at the level of 'fundamental' physics. But how can the world be the way quantum theory says it is? It is famously unclear what the world is like according to quantum physics, which presents a serious problem for the scientific realist who is committed to regarding our best theories as more or less true. The present volume canvasses a variety of responses to this problem, from restricting or revising realism in different ways to exploring entirely new directions in the lively debate surrounding realist interpretations of quantum physics. Some urge us to focus on new formulations of the theory itself, while others examine the status of scientific realism in the further context of quantum field theory. Each chapter is written by a renowned specialist in the field and is aimed at graduate students and researchers in both physics and the philosophy of science. Together they offer a range of illuminating new perspectives on this fundamental debate and exemplify the fruitful interaction between physics and philosophy.

Diederik Aerts, Maria Luisa Dalla Chiara, Christian de Ronde, and Décio Krause (Eds.). 2019. Probing the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics: Information, Contextuality, Relationalism and Entanglement. Singapore: World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/11172

Description

This book provides an interdisciplinary perspective on one of the most fascinating and important open questions in science: What is quantum mechanics talking about? Quantum theory is perhaps our best confirmed physical theory. However, despite its great empirical effectiveness and the subsequent technological developments that it gave rise to in the 20th century, from the interpretation of the periodic table of elements to CD players, holograms and quantum state teleportation, it stands even today without a universally accepted interpretation. The novelty of the book comes from the multiple viewpoints and subjects investigated by a group of researchers from Europe and North and South America.

Diederik Aerts, Christian de Ronde, Hector Freytes, and Roberto Giuntini (Eds.). 2016. Probing the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics: Superpositions, Dynamics, Semantics and Identity. Singapore: World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/10185

Description

This book provides an interdisciplinary approach to one of the most fascinating and important open questions in science: What is quantum mechanics really talking about? In the last decades quantum mechanics has given rise to a new quantum technological era, a revolution taking place today especially within the field of quantum information processing; which goes from quantum teleportation and cryptography to quantum computation. Quantum theory is probably our best confirmed physical theory. However, in spite of its great empirical effectiveness it stands today still without a universally accepted physical representation that allows us to understand its relation to the world and reality.

The novelty of the book comes from the multiple perspectives put forward by top researchers in quantum mechanics, from Europe as well as North and South America, discussing the meaning and structure of the theory of quanta. The book comprises in a balanced manner physical, philosophical, logical and mathematical approaches to quantum mechanics and quantum information. Going from quantum superpositions and entanglement to dynamics and the problem of identity; from quantum logic, computation and quasi-set theory to the category approach and teleportation; from realism and empiricism to operationalism and instrumentalism; the book considers from different angles some of the most intriguing questions in the field.

From Buenos Aires to Brussels and Cagliari, from Florence to Florianópolis, the interaction between different groups is reflected in the many different articles. This book is interesting not only to the specialists but also to the general public attempting to get a grasp on some of the most fundamental questions of present quantum physics.

Jean-Yves Béziau, Décio Krause, and Jonas R. Becker Arenhart (Eds.). 2015. Conceptual Clarifications Tributes to Patrick Suppes (1922-2014). Milton Keynes: College Publications.

Description

This is a volume containing papers honoring Patrick Suppes (1922-2014). All contributors have worked directly with Suppes or/and with his ideas. The book also contains one of the last papers by Suppes (co-authored by two of his collaborators).

The work of Suppes touches many different areas, ranging from meteorology to physics, through logic, mathematics, psychology, neuroscience, education, painting, but he was first of all and above all a philosopher, always questioning, but not in vain. There are not many philosophers who can be proud of having written influential math textbooks, contributed decisively to the philosophical foundations of science, helped to develop research in real labs, promoted new forms o education (computer-assisted learning and the EGPY – Education Program for Gifted Youth).

Since the range of interest of Suppes was very broad, so is the variety of topics dealt with in this volume. The work of a researcher is certainly not limited to his own writings, but also has to be appreciated through the work of the people he has been working with and influenced. From this point of view the work of Suppes is very impressive, and the present book contributes to show that.

Diederik Aerts, Sven Aerts, and Christian de Ronde (Eds.). 2014. Probing the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics: Physical, Philosophical and Logical Perspectives. Singapore: World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/9123

Description

This book provides a new original perspective on one of the most fascinating and important open questions in science: What is quantum mechanics talking about? Quantum theory is perhaps our best confirmed physical theory. However, in spite of its great empirical effectiveness and the subsequent technological developments that it gave rise to in the 20th century, from the interpretation of the periodic table of elements to CD players, holograms and quantum state teleportation, it stands even today without a universally accepted interpretation. The novelty of the book comes from the multiple viewpoints and the original angles taken by a group of young researchers from Europe and South America who gathered for several years under the auspices of the Center Leo Apostel.

Each member of the group presented ideas concerning the interpretation of quantum mechanics. We had discussions ranging from the philosophical underpinnings of local realism and holism, information and decision theoretic approaches to quantum theory all the way to the many worlds interpretation. Strikingly, in much the same way as different — and indeed incompatible observations are needed to fully describe the physical state of affairs in quantum mechanics — the various interpretations of the theory also seem to shed viable, but not necessarily compatible, perspectives on different aspects of the same grand framework. The discussions that followed were both technical and lively, but perhaps their most remarkable quality was the absence of rigid points of view that unfortunately seems to paralyze so much of the discussion in this area. This book is an expression which can be interesting not only to the specialists but also for the general public attempting to get a grasp on one of the still most fundamental questions of present physics.

Décio Krause, and Antonio Videira (Eds.). 2011. Brazilian Studies in Philosophy and History of Science: An account of recent works. Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9422-3

Description

This volume in the Brazilian Studies in the Philososophy and History of Science is the first attempt to present to a general audience some works which have been done in Brazil on ths subject. The included papers are original, reaching a remarkable number of relevant topics of philosophy of science, logic and on the history of science. The Brazilian community has increased in the last years in quantity and in quality of the works, most of them being published in respectable international journals on the subject. There is an informal but general among the philosophers and historians of science that the works must be of high quality, and we hope this volume may contribute to widespread this idea. The chapters of this volume are forwarded by a general introduction, which aims at to sketch not only the contents of the chapters, but it is conceived as a historical and conceptual guide about the development of field, as developed in Brazil. The introduction intends to be be very useful to the interestes readers, and not only to the specialists helping them to evaluate the production of this country that it is raising up in the international context.

Olival Freire Jr., Osvaldo Pessoa Jr., and Joan Losa Bromberg (Eds.). 2011. Teoria quântica: estudos históricos e implicações culturais. Campina Grande: Editora da Universidade Estadual da Paraíba.

Description (in Portuguese)

A presente obra é uma coletânea de trabalhos que exploram aspectos da história dessa teoria cientifica, desde sua criação aos desenvolvimentos ulteriores, incluindo a controvérsia sobre os seus fundamentos e sobre suas implicações filosóficas e culturais. Discute também problemas relacionados à pesquisa sobre o ensino e a difusão cultural dessa teoria, bem como os usos, e abusos, que ai podem aparecer. 

Jonas R. B. Arenhart, Raoni Arroyo, Christian de Ronde, and Raimundo Fernández-Mouján (guest editors). Theoria (forthcoming). Special issue: Quantum Mechanics and Reality. Call for papers (expired): https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/THEORIA/announcement/view/261

Décio Krause and Federico Holik (guest editors). Metatheoria 9(2): 2019. Special issue: Foundations and philosophy of quantum theories and related themes. https://doi.org/10.48160/18532330me9.2

Jonas R. Becker Arenhart and Nahuel Sznajderhaus (guest editors). Cadernos de História e Filosofia da Ciência, 2(1): 2016. Special issue: Current debates in the philosophy of quantum mechanics. 

Christian de Ronde, Dennis Dieks, and Décio Krause (guest editors). Foundations of Physics 44(12): 2014. Special Issue: Logic and Identity in Quantum Mechanics.

Christian de Ronde and Wim Christiaens (guest editors). Philosophica (Ghent University), 83(1): 2010. Special issue: Metaphysical Issues in quantum Mechanics.

Décio Krause (guest editor). Principia 14(1): 2010. Special Issue in honor of Newton C. A. da Costa on the occasion of his 80th birthday, part III.

Décio Krause (guest editor). Principia 13(3): 2009. Special Issue in honor of Newton C. A. da Costa on the occasion of his 80th birthday, part I.

Décio Krause (guest editor). Principia 13(2): 2009. Special Issue in honor of Newton C. A. da Costa on the occasion of his 80th birthday, part II.

Jean-Yves Béziau and Décio Krause (guest editors). Synthese 154(3): 2007. Special issue: New Trends in the Foundations of Science