Conveners
Time and Philosophy in Physics: Block 1
- Shokoufe Faraji (ZARM)
Description
It is astonishing that we can understand the Universe the way we do. However, concurrently celebrating the achievements of science, we should respect its limits and not claim more than it can actually achieve or attain, where by pushing its limits, difficult philosophical issues may arise. Since the visible universe may not give us enough information to characterize the laws of physics completely, thus we need a more comprehensive framework that not only incorporates science but can also go beyond the limits and takes care of ultimate questions as well; like does the world covered by science describe the whole reality? What about underlying assumptions and axioms in cosmology? What about all the philosophical issues related to "the interpretation of quantum mechanics," "measurement Problem," and the ontological character of quantum states? Why does the Universe have the exceptional structure that life can exist? Also, the questions on the domain of validity of the current laws of physics, and the nature of existence of infinities. However, maybe above all, the nature of time and the order present in nature is the greatest secret in the Universe.
Perhaps the world is much more complicated than can be explained only by science and this is time to reconsider questions like whether philosophy plays an essential role in the development of science, or is more damaging than helpful for physics, "because the big questions that used to be discussed by philosophers are now in the hands of physicists". The aim of this parallel session is to overview open issues related to the above-mentioned aspects and to bring researchers from different areas together in a complementary viewpoint.
Many tentative quantum gravity theories, from the Wheeler-deWitt equation to Loop Quantum Gravity, do not specify a time variable, and yet they are predictive. The discussion to clarify this strangeness has been long, but has been resolved and the issue should not be controversial anymore. I give a rapid and simple overview of the solution.
The temporal asymmetry between past and future permeates virtually every aspect of the world of our experience. It has no counterpart, as far as we know, in the laws of fundamental physics. One reaction to this is to trace this asymmetry to a fact about the early state of the universe, either taken as a brute, unexplained fact, or as a consequence of some physical principle. In this talk I...
Notion of Time in fundamental physics has undergone radical revisions over centuries and issues at the forefront of cosmology and quantum gravity pose new conceptual and technical challenges. This talk will provide an short overview of the evolution of ideas and the current status.
It is often claimed that the fundamental laws of physics are deterministic and time-symmetric and that therefore our experience of the passage of time is an illusion. This talk will critically discuss these claims and show that they are based on the misconception that the laws of physics are an exact and complete description of nature. I will argue that all supposedly fundamental deterministic...
Time is one the oldest and most eminent concepts in both philosophy and physics. In my talk I will highlight some pertinent discussions from philosophy and how they relate to issues in current physics. More specifically, I will introduce two different types of temporal orderings and will explain why both are relevant for everyday life, whereas only one of them seems to be of importance to physics.
The wide debate on foundational issues in quantum mechanics, which took place at the famous 1957 Chapel Hill conference on “The Role of Gravitation in Physics”, is here critically analysed with an emphasis on Richard Feynman's contributions [1, 2, 3]. One of the most debated questions at Chapel Hill was whether the gravitational field had to be quantized at all and its possible role in wave...
Within the formalism of General Relativity it is possible to operationally define or characterize a distinguished clock and time. This is the so-called standard clock providing proper time. Also within Quantum Mechanics it is possible to define a clock and the corresponding time. This clock is an atomic clock and it provides time in the unit of the second. Both clocks are compatible though...
The way we experience time is in the accumulation of experiences and events that happen in the moment, and then are behind us. Since the time of Anaximander at least; philosophers have tried to explain both the nature of time and its origin or basis. In modern times; scientists are the ones exploring the domain of time, so now they attempt to explain the nature and basis of time – with varying...
