6th Weekend Seminar on Philosophy of Physics

Fundamentality and Emergence

Nijmegen, 6 – 8 September 2024

Artwork © Ramona Fontaine, Emergence No. 1

The workshop was aimed especially at undergraduate and graduate students of philosophy or physics, but also at students of other disciplines. Participants were introduced to the research field of philosophy of physics in lectures and discussion groups.

A short report will be published here soon.

Organisation: Maren Bräutigam (Cologne), Niels Linnemann (Geneva), Kian Salimkhani (Nijmegen), Annica Vieser (Geneva), Karla Weingarten (Munich)

We were supported by Klaas Landsman's new Radboud Centre for Natural Philosophy, the German Society for Philosophy of Science, and the German Physical Society (DPG).

Programme

Note: All interested parties are cordially invited to attend the lectures; registration is not necessary.

The workshop mainly takes place in HG 1.060 in the Huygens Building.

Abstracts (chronologically)

Klaas Landsman (Radboud University): What is entropy?

In this talk I will try to understand what (classical) entropy means by discussing its history, physics, and mathematics. This journey will take us from Carnot (1824) to Kolmogorov (1965), of course via Boltzmann (1872, 1877), Shannon (1948), and other heroes of entropy. I do not favor information-theoretic interpretations of entropy in physics (let alone of physics altogether) and will argue that the best way to understand entropy at least in physics is to relate it to fluctuations, as proposed in a little-known paper by Einstein (1909). This led to the highly developed theory of large deviations in mathematics, which in my view provides the right context for entropy.

Vera Matarese (University of Perugia): At the heart of debates on physical fundamental ontology

This lecture will focus on the debate between quantum fundamentalism and wavefunction fundamentalism, in order to explore what lies at the heart of such debates, namely different metaphysical views on the connection between fundamental ontology, dynamics, kinematics, and the mathematical language of physics. I suggest that one way to move forward is to evaluate how the different proposals of fundamental ontology account for the emergence of the manifest image and its objectivity.

Manus Visser (Radboud University): Horizon thermodynamics and emergent gravity

Karen Crowther (University of Oslo): Spacetime Emergence

Many approaches to quantum gravity suggest that spacetime is emergent. This talk will explore what this could mean. Along the way I will also discuss the question of fundamentality in physics, and the ideas of inter-theory reduction and consistency.

Patricia Palacios (University of Salzburg): Emergence, reduction and critical phase transitions

Critical phase transitions and their characteristic universal behavior have been at the center of recent debates around reduction and emergence in physics. For some, phase transitions are a case of successful reduction, while for others they constitute the hallmark of emergence. Not so many years ago, Butterfield (2011a, 2011b, 2014) and Norton (2014) suggested that phase transitions combine both emergence and reduction. In this talk, I develop further this compatibilist view and argue that critical phase transitions instantiate two different notions of weak emergence that I call “few-many” and “coarse-grained” emergence. At the same time, I will contend that they are successful cases of intertheoretic reduction, understood as a family of models that can be combined in order to achieve certain epistemic and ontological goals.

Discussion groups

(A) Annica Vieser (HG 00.217): Spacetime emergence (Karen Crowther, 2022)
(B) Martin Voggenauer (HG 00.218): Is There a Fundamental Level? (Jonathan Schaffer, 2003)
(C) Karla Weingarten (HG 01.060): Autonomy of Theories (Robert W. Batterman, 2018)

Participant Talks

Daniele De Maio: Unveiling emergence: from theoretical models to ecological impact and human well-being
In this lecture I will present a part concerning my latest research on the emergence. The lecture will be in three parts. The initial section will elucidate the fundamental criteria for characterising an emergent phenomenon. This will be achieved through an exposition of Jessica Wilson's emergent model (Wilson, 2021). Furthermore, an appropriate category of emergent phenomena will be identified, which will prove invaluable for subsequent research. In particular, this refers to the concept of non-linearity (Mill, 1843; Wilson, 2021). In the second part of the lecture, the concepts of emergence and non-linearity will be applied to the field of ecology. The analysis will proceed with an examination of some emergent phenomena in ecology, with a particular focus on biodiversity (Paine, 1966) and ecological resilience (Holling, 1973). It will be demonstrated that the theory of emergence is not merely a concept that provides an explanation for the functioning of the natural world; on the contrary, the role of biodiversity and ecological resilience in maintaining animal, plant and fauna diversity, and in supporting the resilience of human communities will be elucidated. Indeed, human psycho-physical health is contingent upon a multitude of factors, including social, economic, and political. However, the most significant influence is that of natural factors. The direct effects of biodiversity and resilience, such as resistance to climate change, an improved diet, and others, have a considerable impact on human psycho-physical health.

Lydia Eder (Zoom): Isaac Newton and John Locke: a shared anti-Trinitarian view of God between Natural Law and Laws of Nature
In this talk, I will present my bachelor thesis on the friendship between the natural philosopher Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and the philosopher and Natural Law theorist John Locke (1632-1704). Their extant correspondence reveals that they shared interests not only in (natural) philosophy but also in finance, chymistry (alchemy), and theology. My thesis focuses on their theological discussions, particularly their shared rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity. Newton and Locke’s heterodox views on the nature of God show similarities to antitrinitarian movements in 17th-century England and are evident in both their correspondence and individual works. For this talk, I will focus on Newton’s antitrinitarian views in the General Scholium to his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the book where he introduces his three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation.

Alisa Geiß: Who’s afraid of repetition? Fundamentalism and emergence of time in Deleuze’s philosophy
In philosophy, Gilles Deleuze is known (and feared) for his interdisciplinary approaches, used to describe the complex operations of the universe – the main two principles being Difference and Repetition. Deleuze makes use of both difference and repetition to disprove “classic” schools of thought in philosophy of identity and representation, as formulated by Platon, Aristoteles or Hegel. Traditional philosophy often posits identity as an immanence that entities possess, and representation as the reflection of this essence in thought or language. Deleuze challenges these traditional notions by asserting the primacy of difference, proposing that identity is a secondary construct arising from differential processes. Instead of seeing identity as a fixed category, he views it as a product of the process of difference being repeated. Repetition, in an applied empirical actuality, is not the recurrence of the same but a mechanism through which new differences are continuously produced. Thus, repetition is inherently creative, involving variation and divergence rather than mere duplication. Central to Deleuze’s thought is the notion of time, constantly emerging and reshaping perceived matters. Time, for Deleuze, consists of three syntheses, in which “the present is the repeater, the past is repetition itself, but the future is that which is repeated” (Deleuze 1994: 94). Established on the transcendental concept of “empty” time, as Kant suggested it, I argue that Deleuze’s work presents an understanding of time which is both fundamental and emergent in its physical working. How do Deleuze’s thoughts on time offer new perspectives on the interplay of fundamentality and emergence of time? What is the significance of Deleuze’s concept of ontological repetition for understanding the formation and dissolution of structures? The talk will explore the potential of Deleuze’s philosophy to advance philosophical theories of time as both a fundamental and emergent concept.

Erica Onnis: Emergent Novelty: Causal and Qualitative
Ontologically emergent phenomena are entities (objects, properties, processes, and so on) that depend on lower-level goings-on while maintaining some autonomy and manifesting some sort of novelty in relation to them. Yet, while there is agreement on the importance of these three general features characterising emergence (dependence, autonomy, novelty), there is disagreement about their precise meaning and scope. In my presentation, I focus on emergent novelty, which in the contemporary debate has often been interpreted in causal terms, and suggest that integrating the causal interpretation with a qualitative (i.e., non-essentially causal) one may be appropriate for several reasons and contexts. Also, I propose to disambiguate the notion of qualitative novelty by understanding it as the appearance of new categorical properties.

Niels Top: Schrödinger’s Cat wants to Play: A Game Theory Inspired Approach to the Assessment of Quantum Network Technologies
This talk will briefly present part of my master thesis which explores quantum network technologies through the mathematical field of game theory. I will mainly focus on an argument made in the first chapter in which I discuss what it entails to "understand quantum technology". The argument tries to both integrate a physical understanding of quantum theory with a pragmatic understanding for technology assessment. I would like to spend the majority of the presentation discussing whether such an understanding is sufficient and how it would/could change depending on specific contexts.

Additional literature

We will add further readings soon.

Call for Application

The workshop is aimed especially at undergraduate and graduate students of philosophy or physics, but also at students of other disciplines. Participants will be introduced to the research field of philosophy of physics in lectures and discussion groups. Previous knowledge of physics or philosophy is not required. If interested, participants will also have the opportunity to give their own presentations (20 minutes presentation, 10 minutes discussion). For the approximately 20 participants, two overnight stays and possibly part of the travel expenses will be covered. Confirmed speakers: Karen Crowther (Oslo), Klaas Landsman (Nijmegen), Vera Matarese (Perugia), Patricia Palacios (Salzburg), and Manus Visser (Nijmegen). Note: This is an international edition of our workshop, so this time all lectures and discussion groups will be in English.

We look forward to your applications!

Application deadline: 14 July 2024 30 June 2024

Application material (single PDF): Letter of motivation (one page) and CV; optionally: title and abstract (200 words) of your talk

Contact: seminar(at)philosophiederphysik.de

Organisation: Maren Bräutigam (Cologne), Niels Linnemann (Geneva), Kian Salimkhani (Nijmegen), Annica Vieser (Geneva), Karla Weingarten (Munich)

We are supported by Klaas Landsman's new Radboud Centre for Natural Philosophy, the German Society for Philosophy of Science, and the German Physical Society (DPG).