[PhilPhys] Symposium on the occasion of the retirement of Dennis Dieks

[Laszlo E. Szabo]

Symposium on the occasion of the retirement of Dennis Dieks 

13 October 2014


Venue: “Senaatszaal”, Academy Building, Domplein 29, Utrecht, time:
14.00-17.00 language: English 

On the occasion of the retirement of Dennis Dieks a symposium will be
held on October 13, 2014, dedicated to philosophy and foundations of
science. Four of Dennis’ co-authors, Henk de Regt (Free University
Amsterdam), Pieter Vermaas (Delft University of Technology), Marijn
Versteegh (University of Vienna) and Olimpia Lombardi (University of
Buenos Aires), and Dennis himself will speak about developments and new
prospects. 

There will be an evening programme (with Gerard ’t Hooft, Dennis Dieks,
Jeroen van Dongen, Fred Muller en Erik Verlinde) in the Dutch language.
This will take place in the Aula of the Academy Building.

Afternoon Programme

13.00: Coffee and tea 

13.30: Bert Theunissen (Utrecht University): Welcome

13.35: Henk de Regt (Free University Amsterdam): Understanding the
Physical World

Physics provides us with understanding of the world, but what exactly
does it mean to have physical understanding? This is a deep
philosophical question that cannot be answered without knowledge of the
practice and history of physics. Combining expertise in physics with
philosophical acuity, Dennis Dieks is the ideal scholar to answer this
question. I had the privilege of collaborating with him in a research
project on this topic, and together we developed a philosophical theory
of scientific understanding that is currently widely discussed in the
literature. In my talk I will review our contextual theory of
understanding, describe the way in which I have elaborated it in
subsequent work, and show how the theory solves a specific problem that
confronts traditional views on scientific understanding.

14.05:Pieter Vermaas (Delft University of Technology): Good Modal
Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics: from Utrecht to Delft

Dennis Dieks is a founding father of the family of modal interpretations
of quantum mechanics, and the research he initiated at his Institute for
History and Foundations of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences has
established these interpretations as well-developed and internationally
acknowledged candidates to understand quantum mechanics. The results of
this research answered to a considerable extent what
modalinterpretations could offer as interpretations of quantum
mechanics, yet their evaluation raised in turn the meta question of what
an interpretation has to offer for being a good, tenable or useful
interpretation of quantum mechanics. I will revisit this research on
modal interpretations and explore this meta question, drawing from my
experience as a PhD student at the Utrecht Institute who went to work in
Delft. 

14.35:Break 

14.50:Marijn Versteegh (University of Vienna): Are identical quantum
particles particles?

A central element of modern physics is the notion of identical
particles: all electrons for example have exactly the same intrinsic
properties. In this presentation I will address the question whether
identical particles, as they are described within standard quantum
theory,  can in general be appropriately called particles at all. Is an
electron in some way a distinct object, distinct from all other
electrons, so that we can really speak of the existence of many
electrons, or is there just one undivided whole, one quantum field?
Saunders argued that the individuality of each fermion is guaranteed by
the antisymmetry of the many-fermion quantum state. In the two-electron
case one can for example say that one electron has opposite spin to the
other electron, from which one can conclude that there are indeed two
distinct electrons. However, Dieks and I argue that, within the
standard  interpretation of quantum mechanics, such irreflexive
relations do not make any difference with regard to the individuality of
the identical particles [1]. A system of identical quantum particles can
best be regarded as an undivided whole. 

[1] D. Dieks, M.A.M. Versteegh, Found. Phys. 38, 923 (2008). 

15.20: Olimpia Lombardi (University of Buenos Aires):What is quantum
information?

The elucidation of the concept of quantum information combines the
difficulties inherent in understanding the meaning of the word
‘information’ with the well-known foundational puzzles derived from
quantum mechanics itself. This situation contrasts with the huge
development of the research field named ‘quantum information’. In the
present work I will address the question ‘What is quantum information?’
from a conceptual viewpoint. For this purpose, first Schumacher’s
formalism will be introduced by contrast with Shannon’s theory, and the
definition of quantum information in terms of a quantum source will be
discussed. Then, the definition of information in terms of coding
theorems will be analyzed. These tasks lead us to focus on the
relationship between Shannon entropy and von Neumann entropy, and to
discuss the differences between the concepts of bit and qubit. Finally,
on the basis of the previous discussions, I will analyze the different
interpretations of the concept of information, in the search of a
characterization adequate both to Shannon’s and to Schumacher’s
formalisms.

15.50: Break

16.05: Dennis Dieks (Utrecht University): Philosophy and Foundations of
Physics: Where do we stand?

16.50: Closing remarks 



AVONDPROGRAMMA
Van Kern tot Kosmos, Recente kantelpunten in de natuurkunde en hun
betekenis
20:00 – 22:30, Aula van het Academiegebouw, Domplein 29 Utrecht,
voertaal: Nederlands

Natuurkundige ontdekkingen - van het uitdijende heelal tot het bestaan
van de allerkleinste deeltjes - veranderen ons wereldbeeld. Toen de
astronoom Copernicus in 1543 berekende dat de aarde om de zon draait in
plaats van andersom, bracht hij het gevestigde gezag aan het wankelen.
Einsteins relativiteitstheorie zette ons begrip van de wereld opnieuw op
losse schroeven. Volgens natuurkundigen staan we nu weer op een
kantelpunt. Wat staat ons te wachten? Zijn we dicht bij een theorie van
alles, die belangrijke ideeën in de natuurkunde met elkaar verbindt? En
als het universum een blauwdruk heeft en we die begrijpen, welke
gevolgen heeft dat dan voor ons denken?
Nobelprijswinnaar Gerard ‘t Hooft (UU), Erik Verlinde (UvA), Dennis
Dieks, wetenschapshistoricus Jeroen van Dongen (UvA/UU) en
wetenschapsfilosoof F.A. Muller (EUR/UU) brengen de nieuwste
ontwikkelingen in de natuurkunde in kaart en gaan hierover in gesprek
met elkaar en het publiek.




-- 
L a s z l o  E.  S z a b o
Professor of Philosophy
DEPARTMENT OF LOGIC, INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY
EOTVOS UNIVERSITY, BUDAPEST
http://phil.elte.hu/leszabo
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