Philosophy of Physics
PROJECTS
ONGOING PROJECTS:
COMPLETED PROJECTS:
1. Space the many substances: The view that loop quantum gravity’s spin-networks represent concrete atoms of space is proposed in Vassallo & Esfeld (2014), which adopts a primitive ontology approach to spacetime. Rovelli (2015), on the contrary, warns against this literal interpretation, and regards the ‘chunks’ of space represented by spin-networks as ‘modes of interactions’. In my talk, I will not engage in the legitimacy of the interpretation of spin-networks as concrete atoms of space from a physical perspective. I will rather spell out the metaphysical advantages and disadvantages of endorsing such a view and discuss conceptual issues by drawing on the metaphysical debate on the atomistic view of spacetime. My conclusion will be that the loop quantum gravity’s discrete model of space, according to which space is a collection of many substances—‘the atoms of space’—has certain metaphysically advantageous consequences that have been hitherto overlooked. [talk]
2. Humean Supervenience and Loop Quantum Gravity: Humean Supervenience (HS) is a metaphysical doctrine developed by David Lewis which holds that the fundamental ontology of our physical world merely consists of points (either spatiotemporal points or point-like objects), spatiotemporal relations and intrinsic properties. The extreme parsimony of the theory constitutes a strong reason to endorse it, provided that it can be shown that HS is compatible with our best physical theories. To this end much progress has already been accomplished through the work of Esfeld and his collaborators who have demonstrated the compatibility of classical and quantum theories with the Humean scenario. However, a crucial part of this program, which has yet to be delivered, concerns establishing the compatibility of HS with quantum gravity, our most fundamental physical theory. My project goal is to accomplish this task by focusing on one of the most promising theories within quantum gravity, which is loop quantum gravity (LQG). In particular, I investigate three different components of LQG that are apparently at odds with the pillars of HS. First, whilst HS holds that spatiotemporal points and relations are fundamental, LQG seems to reject any fundamental notion of space, time and spacetime. Second, whilst HS posits intrinsic properties as the only fundamental properties, it is not clear what kind of physical properties LQG presents the world as having, as it turns out that the only quantum observables we can construct are discrete volume and area. Third, superposition and entanglement in LQG contradict the principle of separability in HS, according to which the complete physical state of the world is determined by the intrinsic physical state of each point and their spatiotemporal relations. This project will run for 3 years. I have already completed its first part. [paper]
3. Bohmian Mechanics and Structural Realism: My PhD project aimed to contribute to the discussion of how to interpret the Bohmian ontology. Bohmian Mechanics is a quantum theory that describes the motion of particles, whose trajectories are determined by the quantum wave-function. This theory faces two key questions. The former concerns the metaphysical characterization of the particles; the latter relates to the ontological status of the wave-function. After briefly presenting two possible metaphysical characterizations of the particles, I dedicated the bulk of my PhD dissertation to investigating the status of the wave-function. In particular, I analysed the realist view (which regards the wave-function as a multi-dimensional field) and the nomological view (which considers the wave-function as a law-like entity). I spelled out the implicit methodologies that underlie the two views, arguing that they conflate three important categories that should rather be kept separate: the informationally-complete representation of the system, the ontologically-complete representation of the system, and the ontology itself. Finally, I presented and advocated structural realism as the metaphysical framework for investigating and understanding the Bohmian ontology.
4. Entanglement in Quantum Mechanics - The aim of my postgraduate dissertation was twofold. Firstly, I delineated the development of the problem of nonlocality, from its origins to the proof of its existence in the quantum world. Secondly, I performed a metaphysical investigation into the nature of quantum entanglement, in terms of relational holism, non-separability and nonlocality. I showed that ontic structural realism does provide some good metaphysical tools for its conceptualization. Part of my dissertation was published in an Italian peer-reviewed journal.
Matarese, V. (2014), Dall'articolo 'EPR' agli esperimenti di Alain Aspect: il lungo cammino del problema della nonlocalita' in meccanica quantistica, 66 1-2, 197-233.
5. An ontological account of the electromagnetic field - My undergraduate dissertation was a detailed examination of the concept of field in Maxwell’s Dynamical Electromagnetic Theory. I analyzed this concept from three perspectives. First, I showed the conceptual revolution caused by regarding the field, and not the particles, as the protagonist of electromagnetic effects. Second, I claimed that the ontological status of the field is grounded in its independence from any mechanistic model and, more precisely, in a relational ontology. Third, I showed how this new structuralist reformulation of the ontology allows more flexibility and a unification approach in scientific research, because it encourages a methodology based on analogical thinking.