The Nature of Time. Austin, February 26-27, 2007

[Alexis de Saint-Ours]

The Nature of Time: A Minisymposium on Lessons from the Foundations  
of Relativity and Quantum Physics

Austin College, Sherman, Texas
    February 26-27, 2007


The Minisymposium on the Nature of Time: Lessons from the Foundations  
of Relativity and Quantum Physics will consist of three one-hour  
presentations plus a panel discussion for a general audience,  
interspersed with technical sessions for professionals and graduate  
students. The three primary objectives are to:
·    increase public awareness of the profound disconnect between  
popular notions of time and competing contemporary ontologies
·    assist undergraduate faculty in addressing this theme in the  
classroom
·    create an opportunity for continuing dialogue on time amongst  
physicists and philosophers

Much but not all of the current debate on time arises from attempts  
to create a quantum theory of gravity. Topics to be addressed might  
include Heraclitean (becoming) versus Parmenidian (being) views of  
time as manifested in current competing theories; is relative or  
absolute time "real"?; would quantum mechanical collapse of wave  
packets violate the principle of relativity; is reality timeless?;  
what is the ontological status of time in classical spacetimes that  
do not admit a global time foliation?; can philosophy and work on the  
conceptual foundations of physics assist in the creation of a quantum  
theory of gravity?; what is the ontological status of "emergent  
continuous time" in non-commutative geometries, loop gravity,  
superstring theory, topos theory?; what is the significance of time  
in sum over histories approaches to relativistic quantum mechanics?;  
are logic and physical laws timeless?; can or must an entity  have  
temporal parts?

The following invited speakers have confirmed participation:

A. P. Balachandran, Physics, Syracuse University, Spacetime in non- 
commutative geometry

Cecile Morette DeWitt, Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Time  
in path integral approaches to relativistic quantum mechanics

Juan Ferret, Philosophy, University of Texas at El Paso, Time at the  
juncture of relativity and quantum physics

Wolfgang Rindler, Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Cosmology  
and time

Alexis de Saint Ours, Philosophy, University of Paris 8, The experience  
of time between physics and philosophy. Inexistence, spatialization  
and heterogenesis

Donald Salisbury, Physics, Austin College, Time and observables in  
general relativity

There will be a limited number of slots for additional presentations.  
Please send requests with a title and brief abstract to Don Salisbury  
at dsalisbury at austincollege.edu. Inquiries on registration, lodging  
and transportation should also be sent to this address.


Donald Salisbury
Associate Professor of Physics
Austin College
Sherman, TX 75090
http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/physics/dsalis
dsalisbury at austincollege.edu



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