"Johansson has written an insightful and significant book in which he presents a strong empiricist approach to philosophy of physics. What I especially like about this book is that the author sees many of the most central issues in philosophy of physics ... . this book will receive attention not only from philosophers but from realist-minded physicists as well." (Jan Faye, Metascience, October 12, 2022)
"A highly engaging reading ... . the book has a wide scope, dealing with many interesting problems, appealing to many distinct sources, to finally bring in a unified naturalistic solution to those problems. It will certainly be useful for many different kinds of readers; even though it is not an introductory book, the presentation is quite friendly, and the themes dealt with are probably some of the most important in the area today." (Jonas Rafael Becker Arenhart, Mathematical Reviews, June, 2022)

Preface

Part I. Background

1. Problems in Philosophy of Physics

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Philosophical Questions in Physics

1.3 Summary and General Methodology

2. Some Important Episodes in the History of Physics

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Aristotle’s Physics

2.3 From Aristotle’s Physics to Classical Mechanics: Galilei and Newton

2.4 Relativity Theory

2.5 Quantum Theory

Part II. General Philosophy of Science

3. Empiricism from Ockham to van Fraassen

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Medieval Nominalism - an Empiricist Position

3.3 Classical Empiricism

3.4 Empiricism During the 19th Century

3.4.1 Mach

3.4.2 Poincaré

3.5 The Vienna Circle

3.6 Quine

3.7 Van Fraassen’s Constructive Empiricism

3.7.1 Van Fraassen’s Empiricist Stance

3.8 Evidence

3.8.1 Evidence and Reasons

3.8.2 Empirical Evidence

3.8.3 Is Inconsistency Counter-Evidence Against a Theory?

3.9 Classification - Natural Kinds

3.10 My Empiricist Stance

4. Mathematical Knowledge and Mathematical Objects

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Kant and Quine on Objects

4.3 Truth Value Gaps in Mathematics

4.4 Are Numbers Universals?

4.5 From Natural Numbers to Reals

4.5.1 Against Reduction of Mathematics to Set Theory

4.5.2 Platonism Versus Constructivism and Reals

4.6 Constructions of Numbers

4.6.1 Constructions of integers and rationals

4.6.2 Reals and Infinity

4.6.3 Constructive Analysis

4.7 Gödel’s First Incompleteness Theorem and the Law of Excluded Middle

4.8 Summary

5. Induction and Concept Formation

5.1 Induction in the naturalistic perspective

5.2 Justification in the Naturalistic Perspective

5.3 Evidence and Justification

5.4 Induction and concept formation

5.5 Induction as a heuristic device

5.6 Summary

6. Explanation, Unification and Reduction

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Friedman on Unification

6.3 Nagel on Theory Reduction

6.4 Explanation and Understanding

6.5 Summary

7. Realism, Theory-Equivalence and Underdetermination of Theories

7.1 The Physical Content of Theories

7.2 Arguments About Scientific Realism

7.2.1 Defusing Underdetermination

7.2.2 Structural Realism

7.3 Existence

7.4 Are Physical Quantities Real?

7.4.1 Universals

7.4.2 Physical Quantities

7.5 The Use of ‘Model’ in physics

7.6 Theories of Principle vs Constructive Theories

7.7 Summary

Part III. Philosophy of Physics

8 Causation in Physics

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Causes and Laws

8.2.1 Causation and Relativity Theory

8.3 Are Forces Causes?

8.4 Cause is Agent-Related

8.5 Summary

9. Space, Time and Body; Three Fundamental Concepts

9.1 Observations

9.2 How Does a Theory Connect to the World?

9.3 The Interdependence Between the Predicates place, time and body

9.3.1 Bodies and Particles

9.4 Fundamental Quantities

9.5 Summary

10. Laws

10.1 Introduction

10.2 The Extension of the Predicate “Law of Nature”

10.3 The Logical Form of Laws

10.4 Semantics and ontology

10.5 Induction, Concept Formation and Discovery of Fundamental Laws

10.5.1 Laws, Physical Theories and Observations: Top-Down or Bottom-Up?

10.6 Laws and Fundamental Quantities in Classical Mechanics

10.6.1 The Discovery of Momentum Conservation and the Introduction of mass and force

10.6.2 Types of Laws in Classical Mechanics

10.7 Laws in Special Theory of Relativity

10.8 Laws of Electromagnetism

10.9 Fundamental Laws that Do Not Introduce New Quantities

10.10 Lawhood and Necessity

10.11 Summary

11. Electromagnetism: Fields or Particles?

11.1 Introduction: What is Real: Fields, Particles or Both?

11.2 Ontological Commitment

11.2.1 Alternating the Ontology of a Theory

11.3 Semantics of Classical Electromagnetism

11.4 Inconsistency of Classical Electromagnetism?

11.5 Why Not a Double Ontology?

11.6 What Do We Observe?

11.7 Relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics

11.8 Summary

12. Propensities

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Objectivity and Chanciness

12.3 Indeterminism and Objective Chance

12.4 Conditional Propensities

12.5 Conditionals vs Conditional Probabilities

12.6 The Scope of Genuine Randomness

12.7 Summary

13. Direction of Time

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Time Reversal and Dynamics of Motion

13.2.1 Time Reversal in Classical Mechanics

13.2.2 CPT Symmetry

13.2.3 Time Asymmetry in Weak Interactions

13.2.4 Time Reversal in Quantum mechanics

13.3 Time Symmetry and Electromagnetic Radiation

13.4 Conditions for Time and Space Co-Ordination

13.5 Definition of dynamical reversibility

13.6 When is a Quantum System Dynamically Reversible?

13.7 Time and Entropy

13.7.1 Time Reversal and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

13.7.2 Entropy Function Defined on Hilbert Spaces?

13.8 The Arrow of Time and Clocks

13.8.1 Entropy of Clocks

13.8.2 Direction of Time without a Universal Clock

13.9 Time and Big Bang

13.10 Summary

14. Identity, Individuation, Indistinguishability and Entanglement

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Maxwell-Boltzmann Statistics

14.3 Fermi-Dirac Statistics

14.4 Bose-Einstein Statistics

14.4.1 Elementary Bosons

14.4.2 Composite Bosons

14.5 Individuation and Identity of Quantum States

14.6 Individuation of Quantum Systems

14.7 Entanglement

14.8 Summary

15. Quantum Waves and Indeterminacy

15.1 Introduction

15.2 Quantum Systems Propagate as Waves

15.2.1 Probability Amplitudes

15.3 Indeterminacy, not Uncertainty!

15.4 Summary

16. The Measurement Problem

16.1 Introduction

16.2 Von Neumann’s Account of Measurements

16.3 The Copenhagen view on measurements

16.4 My Own View - a Collapse Interpretation

16.5 Three steps of a measurement

16.6 Discreteness of Interactions

16.7 From Classical to Quantum Mechanics

16.7.1 Replacing Operators for Variables

16.7.2 Interaction and Individuation of Quantum States

16.7.3 Unobserved Interactions

16.7.4 Measurements of Continuous Observables

16.8 State Evolution and Time Dependent Hamiltonians

16.9 A Semi-Formal Derivation of Collapse

16.10 Summary

17. What is Spacetime?

17.1 Introduction

17.2 The Role of Rods and Clocks in Relativity Theory

17.3 GTR- The Relation Between Spacetime Structure and Matter Distribution

17.4 Spacetime Functionalism

17.5 String Theory and Spacetime

17.5.1 The Dimensionality of Space

17.5.2 String theory and GTR

17.6 Summary

18. Summary and Conclusions

Bibliography

Index

After receiving a Ph.D in theoretical philosophy from Stockholm University 1993 I was lecturer in theoretical philosophy at Linköping University 1995-2001, after which I moved to Uppsala University, where I became full professor 2008. My research interests are epistemology, philosophy of science and in particular philosophy of physics. I have extensively taught philosophy of science also at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Royal University of Technology in Stockholm and Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala.

This book presents a thoroughly empiricist account of physics. By providing an overview of the development of empiricism from Ockham to van Fraassen the book lays the foundation for its own version of empiricism. Empiricism for the author consists of three ideas: nominalism, i.e. dismissing second order quantification as unnecessary, epistemological naturalism, and viewing classification of things in natural kinds as a human habit not in need for any justification.

The book offers views on the realism-antirealism debate as well as on the individuation of theories as a thoroughly neglected aspect of underdetermination. The book next discusses a broad range of topics, including the predicates body, spatial distance and time interval, the ontology of electromagnetism, propensities, the measurement problem and other philosophical issues in quantum theory. Discussions about the direction of time and about string theory make up the final part of the book.

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