Structuralism in the philosophy of physics

Lam, Vincent (2017). Structuralism in the philosophy of physics. Philosophy Compass, 12(6), pp. 1-10. John Wiley & Sons Ltd 10.1111/phc3.12421

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Ontic structuralism or ontic structural realism in the philosophy of physics can be broadly considered as an interpretative strategy providing a set of conceptual and metaphysical tools—or, more ambitiously, an ontological framework—in order to account for central features of current fundamental physics. This article aims to review the main structuralist interpretative moves in the context of our two best fundamental physical theories of matter and spacetime, namely, quantum theory (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory) and general relativity. We highlight in particular the structuralist understanding of permutation invariance, entanglement and nonlocality in quantum theory, and of the dynamical features of spacetime, (gauge‐theoretic) diffeomorphism invariance and background independence in general relativity.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Philosophy
UniBE Contributor:	Lam, Vincent Minh Duc
Subjects:	100 Philosophy 100 Philosophy > 110 Metaphysics 500 Science > 530 Physics
ISSN:	1747-9991
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Language:	English
Submitter:	Vincent Minh Duc Lam
Date Deposited:	11 May 2020 12:54
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:37
Publisher DOI:	10.1111/phc3.12421
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/142594