Physics and Speculative Philosophy

Physics and Speculative Philosophy
Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2016-02-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 311045047X

Through both an historical and philosophical analysis of the concept of possibility, we show how including both potentiality and actuality as part of the real is both compatible with experience and contributes to solving key problems of fundamental process and emergence. The book is organized into four main sections that incorporate our routes to potentiality: (1) potentiality in modern science [history and philosophy; quantum physics and complexity]; (2) Relational Realism [ontological interpretation of quantum physics; philosophy and logic]; (3) Process Physics [ontological interpretation of relativity theory; physics and philosophy]; (4) on speculative philosophy and physics [limitations and approximations; process philosophy]. We conclude that certain fundamental problems in modern physics require complementary analyses of certain philosophical and metaphysical issues, and that such scholarship reveals intrinsic features and limits of determinism, potentiality and emergence that enable, among others, important progress on the quantum theory of measurement problem and new understandings of emergence.

Physics and Speculative Philosophy

Physics and Speculative Philosophy
Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2016-02-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110451816

Through both an historical and philosophical analysis of the concept of possibility, we show how including both potentiality and actuality as part of the real is both compatible with experience and contributes to solving key problems of fundamental process and emergence. The book is organized into four main sections that incorporate our routes to potentiality: (1) potentiality in modern science [history and philosophy; quantum physics and complexity]; (2) Relational Realism [ontological interpretation of quantum physics; philosophy and logic]; (3) Process Physics [ontological interpretation of relativity theory; physics and philosophy]; (4) on speculative philosophy and physics [limitations and approximations; process philosophy]. We conclude that certain fundamental problems in modern physics require complementary analyses of certain philosophical and metaphysical issues, and that such scholarship reveals intrinsic features and limits of determinism, potentiality and emergence that enable, among others, important progress on the quantum theory of measurement problem and new understandings of emergence.

On Physics and Philosophy

On Physics and Philosophy
Author: Bernard d'Espagnat
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2013-04-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0691158061

"On Physics and Philosophy is an accessible, mathematics-free reflection on the philosophical meaning of the quantum revolution, by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject. D'Espagnat presents an objective account of the main guiding principles of contemporary physics - in particular, quantum mechanics - followed by a look at just what consequences these should imply for philosophical thinking."--

Speculative Realism

Speculative Realism
Author: Peter Gratton
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2014-07-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1441163670

Speculative realism is one of the most talked-about movements in recent Continental philosophy. It has been discussed widely amongst the younger generation of Continental philosophers seeking new philosophical approaches and promises to form the cornerstone of future debates in the field. This book introduces the contexts out of which speculative realism has emerged and provides an overview of the major contributors and latest developments. It guides the reader through the important questions asked by realism (what can I know? what is reality?), examining philosophy's perennial questions in new ways. The book begins with the speculative realist's critique of 'correlationism', the view that we can never reach what is real beneath our language systems, our means for perception, or our finite manner of being-in-the-world. It goes on to critically review the work of the movement's most important thinkers, including Quentin Meillassoux, Ray Brassier, and Graham Harman, but also other important writers such as Jane Bennett and Catherine Malabou whose writings delineate alternative approaches to the real. It interrogates the crucial questions these thinkers have raised and concludes with a look toward the future of speculative realism, especially as it relates to the reality of time.

Speculative Truth

Speculative Truth
Author: Russell McCormmach
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2004
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0195160045

At once a contribution to a growing body of scholarship on natural philosophy and an analysis of theoretical research, Speculative Truth yields a fascinating view and discourse on the rise of scientific attitudes and ways of knowing - virtually the birth of modern science."--BOOK JACKET.

The Philosophy Behind Physics

The Philosophy Behind Physics
Author: Thomas A. Brody
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642789781

Thomas Brody had one of the most powerful and wide-ranging intellects of his generation. Although primarily a physicist who worked on statistical prob lems in nuclear physics, on probability theory and on computational physics he had an extensive knowledge of the philosophy of science and of philosophy, and was fluent in many languages. He is well-known among physicists for the Brody-Moshinsky transformation but his extensive work on probability and on the philosophy of science remained almost unknown. This was because the originality of his ideas entailed many lengthy battles with uncomprehending referees, and he frequently published in Mexican journals of limited circula tion. In addition, his strongly critical spirit inhibited his willingness to publish his ideas. He was always most concerned by the very unsatisfactory situation in the philosophy of physics, that is largely due to the generally poor knowledge that physicists and philosophers have of each other's disciplines. Philosophers of science write at length about physics without any detailed first-hand knowl edge of how research is actually carried out. Physicists, for their part, often implicitly assume naive or erroneous philosophical ideas, and this often hinders their scientific work, besides spreading further confusion if they try to give an account of what they are doing.

Mentaphysics

Mentaphysics
Author: James Lowry
Publisher:
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2019-08-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781717813022

MENTAPHYSICS is an original and systematic work of speculative philosophy. The title itself, although suggestive of the traditional term "metaphysics': indicates a knowledge that does not simply transcend physics but rather unites the mental and physical aspects of spirit. Spirit, which is the ultimate principle in this treatise, is the comprehensive living reality of which mentaphysics is the theoretical exposition. The main body of the text is a detailed elaboration of this principle. As a contemporary work of speculative philosophy MENTAPHYSICS is intended to provide the framework and underlying principles of philosophical inquiry and reflection. At the same time it is a scholarly re-interpretation of the history of philosophy and culture. As such MENTAPHYSICS is both a continuation of and an addition to the speculative traditions of the East and the West. The author, formerly Professor of Philosophy at St. Mary's University, and of Classics and German at Dalhousie University, is currently Research Professor at the Dominican University College in Ottawa. Dr. Lowry's publications on the history and tradition of speculative philosophy include: The LogicalPrinciples of Proclus'"'J:.TOIXEID."f.l'f. 0EOAOfIKH as Systematic Ground of the Cosmos, Psyche and Cosmos, Reason and Religion, and Metaphysic and Dialectic. A specialist in speculative metaphysics Dr. Lowry holds degrees in philosophy, history and literature; as well he holds a CFA designation and is the founder of the Pallas Athena Corporation. For more information on MENTAPHVSICS and on the author visit: Ailouros.ca

From Physics to Politics

From Physics to Politics
Author: Robert Trundle
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1351518534

Mass ideology is unique to modern society and rooted in early modern philosophy. Traditionally, knowledge had been viewed as resting on metaphysics. Rejecting metaphysical truth evoked questions about the source of -truth.- For nineteenth-century ideologists, -truth- comes either from dominating classes in a progressively determined history or from a post-Copernican freedom of the superior man to create it. In From Physics to Politics Robert C. Trundle, Jr. uncovers the relation of modern philosophy to political ideology. And in rooting truth in human nature and Nature by modal reasoning, he resolves the problem of politicized truth. Our concepts of scientific truth, logic, and necessity are essentially connected. Modern philosophy restricts our understanding of necessity to the political dreams and aspirations of Enlightenment intellectuals. As a result, these intellectuals refuse to acknowledge as factual or meaningful whatever is not intelligible within the practical goals of establishing science as a system of enlightened ideas. The effect of these ideas is that in our time metaphysical principles, speculative truths, our understanding of science, and the nature of logic have become subordinated to ideological dreams. Fascism, Nazism, Marxism, political correctness, and moral relativism are not historical aberrations but essential consequences. Trundle's work is groundbreaking and daring, and his underlying thesis demonstrates why scientific truth demands a modal defense. The defense not only integrates science, ethics, and politics, but shows how -truth- may be ascribed to moral and scientific principles in contrast to a modern philosophical tradition. Since this tradition is the origin of political ideology, it has led to an irrational politicization of truth. The book will appeal particularly to those interested in political history, histories of philosophy, the philosophy of sciences, and ethics.

The Philosophy of Relativity

The Philosophy of Relativity
Author: A. P. Ushenko
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2022-06-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000602869

First published in 1937, The Philosophy of Relativity contains an exposition of Einstein, a step-by step deduction of the main equations of both the special and general theories of relativity. This book sets out to expound an original theory of events, change and space-time, and to offer a new explanation of perception. But in order to ramify his belief in the objective reality of space and time, the author digresses into problems of general interest such as cognitive significance of art and Zeno’s paradoxes. He also defends his theory in an appraisal of the fashionable views of logical positivism and pragmatism. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of philosophy of science and philosophy in general.