CFP: How Quantum Mechanics Changed Philosophy

Bergische Universität Wuppertal, January 16-17, 2020

The aim of this workshop is to explore the implications of quantum mechanics for philosophy, both historically and in contemporary debates. Quantum mechanics is generally regarded as a fundamental theory of nature, and at the same time as problematic to understand. The particular issues raised by quantum mechanics have had repercussions for the general understanding of science as well as of the nature of reality. Many philosophers of natural science have been particularly interested in quantum mechanics - reflections on quantum mechanics play a role in the philosophical work of e.g. Reichenbach, Cassirer, Popper, Kuhn, Feyerabend, Putnam, Van Fraassen and Cartwright. At the same time, it has been argued that in certain areas of philosophy, quantum mechanics is unjustifiably ignored.

The workshop aims to explore the roles of reflections on quantum mechanics in wider philosophical debates, from the early 20th century until the present, concerning for example causality, realism, the nature of objects, naturalism, and the very idea of what a scientific theory can look like.