Scientific Realism and the Quantum

Start date: 1 March 2015
End date: 21 May 2018
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council
Primary investigator: Dr Juha Saatsi
Co-investigators: Dr Jade French

Description

Scientific Realism and the Quantum studies scientific (anti-)realism in the context of quantum physics.

Does science provide knowledge of the ‘unobservable’ world of molecules, atoms, or electromagnetic fields? How about quarks or the Higgs boson? These posits of science cannot be ‘seen’ by the naked eye, or directly observed through instruments, but surely our best confirmed scientific theories give us knowledge of about them? This question of scientific realism is one of the core issues in the philosophy of science.

Quantum physics is extremely well-confirmed. Its impressive predictive and explanatory successes exemplify some of the basic motivations behind the realist attitude. But at the same time profound interpretational issues in the foundations of quantum physics present distinct challenges to realism.

This AHRC-funded project examines scientific realism in relation to quantum physics, its history and current state of play.

We bring together researchers from general philosophy of science and philosophy of physics for fruitful interaction.

The project’s significance derives from the cultural importance of the claims to scientific knowledge that are at stake. As science commands authority as a source of empirical knowledge, it is critical for us to understand how philosophical issues in fundamental physics challenge an otherwise natural attitude towards our best theories.

Contact

If you would like to contact the investigators about Realism and the Quantum project, or if you have comments about this website, we’d be happy to hear from you. Please email j.t.saatsi@leeds.ac.uk

You can also subscribe to our Twitter feed @realism_quantum

Impact