Related papers: Formalism 25
Since Austin introduced the term ``infelicity'', the linguistic literature has been flooded with its use, but no formal or computational explanation has been given for it. This thesis provides one for those infelicities that occur when a…
Machine learning models increasingly function as representational systems, yet the philosoph- ical assumptions underlying their internal structures remain largely unexamined. This paper develops a structuralist decision framework for…
There has been a recent spate of essays defending presentism, the view in the metaphysics of time according to which all and only present events or entities exist. What is particularly striking about this resurgence is that it takes place…
Some relations between physics and finitary and infinitary mathematics are explored in the context of a many-minds interpretation of quantum theory. The analogy between mathematical ``existence'' and physical ``existence'' is considered…
The way Leibniz applied his philosophy to mathematics has been the subject of longstanding debates. A key piece of evidence is his letter to Masson on bodies. We offer an interpretation of this often misunderstood text, dealing with the…
In a parametrized and constrained Hamiltonian system, an observable is an operator which commutes with all (first-class) constraints, including the super-Hamiltonian. The problem of the frozen formalism is to explain how dynamics is…
Traditionally, to be a realist about something means believing in the independent existence of that something. In this line of thought, a scientific realist is someone who believes in the objective existence of the entities postulated by…
Since I first became enthralled with physics as a teenager, I've been intrigued by the philosophical aspects of the discipline. As I approached the end of my career as an experimental physicist and observational astronomer (I'm now…
Reductionism has dominated science and philosophy for centuries. Complexity has recently shown that interactions---which reductionism neglects---are relevant for understanding phenomena. When interactions are considered, reductionism…
In this paper I present and critically discuss the main strategies that Bohr used and could have used to fend off the charge that his interpretation does not provide a clear-cut distinction between the classical and the quantum domain. In…
I distinguish two types of reduction within the context of quantum-classical relations, which I designate "formal" and "empirical". Formal reduction holds or fails to hold solely by virtue of the mathematical relationship between two…
We present an axiomatization of non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics for a system with an arbitrary number of components. The interpretation of our system of axioms is realistic and objective. The EPR paradox and its relation with realism is…
The quantization rules recently proposed by M. Navarro (and independently I.V. Kanatchikov) for a finite-dimensional formulation of quantum field theory are applied to the Klein-Gordon and the Dirac fields to obtain the quantum equations of…
The debate between scientific realism and anti-realism remains at a stalemate, making reconciliation seem hopeless. Yet, important work remains: exploring a common ground, even if only to uncover deeper points of disagreement and, ideally,…
It is shown how to extend the formal variational calculus in order to incorporate integrals of divergences into it. Such a generalization permits to study nontrivial boundary problems in field theory on the base of canonical formalism.
We explore the rational, formal and non-formal criteria of consistency, non-triviality and redundancy in the mathematical research now a days. We develop a paradigmatic discussion by analysing the different conceptions of those criteria,…
Being mathematics a natural language to Mankind and to physics, it must be constantly adapted to our necessities and our natural perception. Then, mathematical concepts are not absolute to reality. Although mathematical theories are…
I discuss some problems related to extreme mathematical realism, focusing on a recently proposed "shut-up-and-calculate" approach to physics (arXiv:0704.0646, arXiv:0709.4024). I offer arguments for a moderate alternative, the essence of…
We develop librationism, {\pounds}, and clarify some mathematical and philosophical matters which relate to the particular manner in which it deals with the paradoxes and to its usefulness as a foundation for mathematics and type free…
The canonical formalism of general relativity affords a particularly interesting characterisation of the infamous hole argument. It also provides a natural formalism in which to relate the hole argument to the problem of time in classical…