DE / EN
2023/2024
History and Philosophy of Physics Research Seminar (Winter)
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Time & Place:
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Tuesdays from 14:15 to 15:45 CEST.
Almost all sessions can be attended via Zoom; the sessions that are indicated as 'hybrid' below may also be attended in person, in the main building (Am Hof 1, 53113 Bonn) in seminar room 1.070. Zoom-links and weekly reminders are announced via hpp@listen.uni-bonn.de. Subscribing to this list is possible a) here, b) by sending an empty email to hpp-subscribe@listen.uni-bonn.de, or c) by contacting jdobosze@uni-bonn.de |
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Conveners:
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17 Oct 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Michel Janssen (University of Minnesota)
Drawing the line between kinematics and dynamics in special relativity and quantum mechanics Abstract
The mathematical equivalence of matrix and wave mechanics papers over an important difference in what Heisenberg and Schrödinger took to be their key insights. For Schrödinger it was that atomic physics calls for an underlying wave theory just as geometric optics had in the 19th century. For Heisenberg it was that atomic physics calls for a new general framework for doing physics just as electrodynamics had in the early-20th century. Following Heisenberg rather than Schrödinger, I present a few case studies in special relativity and quantum mechanics in which problems that seem to call for dynamical solutions were solved instead by an appeal to the new kinematical frameworks introduced by these new theories. I use these case studies to bring out some parallels between the standard take on special relativity and a more controversial information-theoretic take on quantum mechanics and use the former to argue for the latter. Based on joint work with Michael Janas and Mike Cuffaro. |
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24 Oct 2023
in person only |
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Alex Reutlinger (Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy)
Articulating Invariantism. Revisiting the Counterfactual Independence Account of Scientific Objectivity Abstract
TBA. |
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31 Oct 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Jose Senovilla
TBA. |
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14 Nov 2023
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Workshop on Oppenheimer, Heisenberg, and the birth of nuclear weapons
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21 Nov 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Michael te Vrugt (DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge)
Coarse-graining in cosmology Abstract
Cosmological models assume the universe to be homogenous on large scales, which corresponds to an averaged ("coarse-grained") description. Coarse-graininig, however, is both mathematically and philosophically quite challenging. For example, the derivation of the Friedmann equations corresponds to a mathematically incorrect coarse-graininig procedure, and it is not clear at present what consequences this has for their accuracy. From the philosophical side, a major question is the justification of coarse-graininig [1]. In this talk, I will first show how the Mori-Zwanzig formalism, a technique from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, allows to develop improved coarse-grained cosmological models [2]. I will then use this derivation as a case study to argue that, contrary to some claims made in the philosophical literature, justifications of coarse-graininig often involve epistemic and observer-dependent considerations - and that this is not problematic [3]. [1] M. te Vrugt, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 87, 136-146 (2021) [2] M. te Vrugt, S. Hossenfelder and R. Wittkowski, Physical Review Letters 127, 231101 (2021) [3] M. te Vrugt, European Journal for Philosophy of Science 12, 41 (2022) |
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28 Nov 2023
tba |
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Antonis Antoniou (University of Bonn)
Laws and Initial Conditions in Cosmology Abstract
Two notable characteristics that set cosmology apart from other fields of physics are the uniqueness of its main object of study -- the universe -- and the fact that the initial conditions of the cosmos appear to be necessary rather than contingent. These two characteristics are in tension with two well-established philosophical views about laws and initial conditions: (a) that laws must apply to multiple instances of a physical phenomenon and (b) that initial conditions are distinguished from laws by virtue of their contingency. The present article provides a framework for the resolution of this tension by defining scientific laws as guiding principles within the models of a theory, and initial conditions as the values of parameters to which such laws remain invariant. This framework facilitates the understanding of scientific laws that apply to only one object, and preserves the distinction between laws and initial conditions despite the fact that the latter may not always be contingent. |
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5 Dec 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Paul Hoyningen-Huene (Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Philosophy, Professor emeritus & Universität Zürich, Department of Economics, Lecturer)
How do abstract economic models explain? Abstract
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19 Dec 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Nurida Boddenberg (University of Bonn)
Operationalism = Realism Abstract
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9 Jan 2024
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Florian Boge (TU Dortmund)
Deep Learning Robustness for Scientific Discovery: The Case of Anomaly Detection in High Energy Physics [Joint work with Michael Krämer, ThHEP, Aachen, & Christian Zeitnitz, ExpHEP, Wuppertal] Abstract
Machine Learning (ML) techniques such as Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are of great promise in science today. In High Energy Physics in particular, they are supposed to foster scientific discovery through the detection of anomalies, without reliance on any specific theory or model. But DNNs also have astonishing shortcomings, as they are vulnerable to ‘adversarial examples’; data instances that are easily classifiable for humans but totally misclassified by DNNs. Adversarial vulnerability is a double-edged sword: On the one hand, it shows that discerning DNNs’ credible outputs from flukes requires some skill. On the other hand, adversarials exhibit DNNs’ sensitivity to subtle, often human-inscrutable features that could also be scientifically productive (Buckner [2020]). Such features are, in fact, being utilised in anomaly detection. Against this backdrop, we offer an analysis of, and a cautionary tale about, DNNs’ present utility for scientific discovery. To do so, we introduce a notion of performance-robustness, which DNNs need to satisfy in order to be able to deliver genuine discoveries. However, as we shall also argue, the achievement of performance-robustness often, if not always, implies limitations to purely ML-driven discovery.
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16 Jan 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Caspar Jacobs (Leiden University)
A Philosophical Introduction to Hidden Symmetries Abstract
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23 Jan 2023
hybrid (in person speaker) |
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Jamie Shaw
Funding People, not Projects? A Critical Evaluation Abstract
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30 Jan 2023
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Abstract
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2022/2023
History and Philosophy of Physics Research Seminar (Summer)
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Time & Place: |
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Tuesdays from 14:15 to 15:45 CEST.
Almost all sessions can be attended via Zoom; the sessions that are indicated as 'hybrid' below may also be attended in person, in the main building (Am Hof 1, 53113 Bonn) in seminar room 1.070. Zoom-links and weekly reminders are announced via hpp@listen.uni-bonn.de. Subscribing to this list is possible a) here, b) by sending an empty email to hpp-subscribe@listen.uni-bonn.de, or c) by contacting jdobosze@uni-bonn.de |
Conveners: |
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