
The Ultimate Constituents of the Material World
In Search of an Ontology for Fundamental Physics
- 274 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
The Ultimate Constituents of the Material World
In Search of an Ontology for Fundamental Physics
About this book
Today, quantum field theory (QFT)—the mathematical and conceptual framework for contemporary elementary particle physics—is the best starting point for analysing the fundamental building blocks of the material world. QFT if taken seriously in its metaphysical implications yields a picture of the world that is at variance with central classical conceptions. The core of Kuhlmann's investigation consists in the analysis of various ontological interpretations of QFT, e.g. substance ontologies as well as a process-ontological approach. Eventually, Kuhlmann proposes a dispositional trope ontology, according to which particularized properties and not things are the most basic entities, in terms of which all other entities are to be analysed, e.g as bundles of properties. This book was chosen for the 2009 ontos-Award for research on analytical ontology and metaphysics by the German Society for Analytical Philosophy.
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Table of contents
- Part I Ontology and Quantum Field Theory
- Part II Classical Ontologies
- Part III Revisionary Ontologies
- Part IV The Trope Bundle Interpretation
- Part V Concluding Remarks
- Part VI Appendices
- Abbreviations and Notation
- Appendix A Special Relativity Theory: Some Notation and Required Results
- Appendix B Ontologically Oriented Survey of Quantum Mechanics
- Appendix C Advanced Foundational Topics in QFT
- Appendix D Assumptions and Results of AQFT
- Bibliography
- Physics Glossary
- Philosophy Glossary