Physics, Structure, and Reality

How do we figure out the nature of the world from a mathematically formulated physical theory? What do we infer about the world when a physical theory can be mathematically formulated in different ways? Physics, Structure, and Reality addresses these questions, questions that get to the heart of the project of interpreting physics—of figuring out what physics is telling us about the world. North argues that there is a certain notion of structure, implicit in physics and mathematics, that we should pay careful attention to, and that doing so sheds light on these questions concerning what physics is telling us about the nature of reality. Along the way, lessons are drawn for related topics such as the use of coordinate systems in physics, the differences among various formulations of classical mechanics, the nature of spacetime structure, the equivalence of physical theories, and the importance of scientific explanation. Although the book does not explicitly defend scientific realism, instead taking this to be a background assumption, the account provides an indirect case for realism toward our best theories of physics.

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the book: its aims, scope, and key themes. The chief project is to unearth how we figure out what our mathematically formulated, best physical theories tell us about the nature of the world, and how we figure out what these theories tell us when they can be mathematically formulated in different ways. The chapter outlines the core theme of taking the mathematics in which our best physical theories are formulated seriously; notes the background assumption of scientific realism; outlines the idea that direct formulations of physical theories are preferable; explains the idea of taking a theory’s metaphysical aspects seriously; and notes that one upshot of the account will be fewer cases of theoretical equivalence than usually thought.

How to Think about the Debate over the Reality of Beliefs

The aim of this paper is to propose a new conceptualization of the distinction between realism and anti-realism about beliefs that is based on the division between natural and non-natural properties, as defined by Lewis. It will be argued that although the traditional form of anti-realism about beliefs, namely eliminative materialism, has failed (as it led to unacceptable consequences), there is a possibility to reformulate the division in question. The background assumption of the proposal is the framework of deflationism about truth and existence: it will be assumed that beliefs can be said to exist and their attributions can said to be true. The aim is to show that even when we buy into such assumptions we can meaningfully distinguish between the realist and anti-realist approach to belief. According to the proposal, the paradigmatic anti-realist view on beliefs should be seen as a conjunction of three claims: that belief attributions do not track objective similarities, that beliefs are not causally active, and that there is no viable way of naturalizing content. It will be shown that seeing the debate in the proposed way has important advantages as it allows the issue of belief realism to be made non-trivial and tractable, and it introduces theoretical unity into contemporary metaphysics of beliefs.

Transnational Climate Law

Climate change shatters the idea that jurisdictional borders and doctrinal debates about the scope of the “legal” are the sole tensions with which a concept of transnational law must contend. Climate change exposes a further fault line underlying legal thought and practice—the ultimate frailty of a model of human/nature interactions premised on the background assumption of an inexhaustible planet of infinite resources. Newly minted climate laws and climate lawsuits are emerging not against a blank slate but rather in a context where the concept of nature as a resource to be exploited for human use is deeply embedded in and through law. This chapter reaches beyond the most visible manifestations of climate law—legislation and lawsuits that appear already bearing the climate law label—to explore the ways in which a transnational law lens illuminates the rather larger subject areas of unenvironmental law and unclean energy law.

Recent results from NA62 and NA48

This paper reviews recent results form the NA62 and NA48 experiments at CERN. NA62 has searched for the K → πνν¯ with an in-flight decay technique. The analysis of 1.2 · 1011 decays has found one event compatible with the Standard Model prediction, giving an upper limit for the branching ratio of 1.4 · 10-9 (95% CL) in the background assumption. Prospects for improvements in the measurement are given. Results on the Kl3 decay form factors from NA48/2 are presented as well as the first observation of the decay K± → π ± π0e+e- and the measurement of its branching ratio from the same experiment.

Epistemological eclecticism: Difference and the ‘Other’ in the Balkans and beyond

This article's concern is epistemological in that it seeks understanding of the nature of ethnographic knowledge production. Its background assumption is that decolonization of anthropology requires decolonization of anthropological epistemology. The article argues that anthropology is not so much a study of the ‘Other’, but an effort to acquire knowledge by translating across some sort of socio-historically established difference. Anthropologists do not acquire knowledge necessarily by translating between modern, Western European, and non-modern, ‘Other’ conceptual arrangements. Instead, the anthropological production of knowledge requires an effort to figure out the relevant differences and similarities between an anthropologist, their interlocutors, and their audiences, as well as a translation across these differences and similarities. In order to demonstrate this point, the article focuses on 19th- and 20th-century ethnographic discussions of rural joint families called zadruga in the Balkans. Through a critical reading of two works on zadruga, it demonstrates that anthropologists in the Balkans were epistemologically eclectic, in that they could make use of strategies of both ‘anthropology abroad’ and ‘auto-anthropology’, or combine and reverse them. While this instance of epistemological eclecticism is the result of widespread uncertainties concerning the status of the ‘modern’ and the ‘non-modern’ as organizational categories in the Balkans, it has direct implications for the production of anthropological knowledge generally.

Liberal autonomy in a troubled context

Autonomy, understood as self-rule, is almost routinely accepted as one of the core liberal concepts. Still, a closer view reveals that both the status and meaning of autonomy are controversial. The text departs from a short summary of the main theoretical disputes surrounding the concept. A critique of the standard internalist account is followed by an attempt to offer reasons for accepting a relational reading of autonomy. The central question of the text is context-specific. It asks about the possibility and meaning of liberal autonomy in a society whose past is marked by mass regime-sponsored (and sometimes widely supported) crimes. The background assumption is that mass crime leaves actors in heteronomous condition. At stake is reestablishing individual autonomies of two types of actors, whose group-specific identities have been created by crime: the ethical community of those who share collective identity with victims, and the ethical community of those who share collective identity with perpetrators.

Zeus on the stud farm? Against a Homeric instance of attractio relativi

The genitive ἧς at Iliad 5.265 is sometimes considered due to attractio relativi. Alternatively it is taken as a partitive or ablatival genitive, or emended. The question matters for Greek linguistic chronology because uncontroversial attractio relativi is not found until the fifth century BC. This paper addresses the question via a fresh examination of the syntax and sense of lines 265-269. The linguistically most plausible views are: (i) we should not understand εἰσίν with τῆς γάρ τοι γενεῆς, nor punctuate strongly after 267; (ii) ἧς should stand, and is a partitive genitive; (iii) οὕνεκα means ‘because’. The resulting interpretation implies that Zeus accessed some pre-existing stock of horses, otherwise unknown to Greek literature. For many scholars this is a fatal objection to ἧς as a partitive genitive, with some concluding that ἧς is due to attractio relativi or corrupt, and others that ἧς is an ‘ablatival genitive’ (a suggestion that does not solve the perceived problem). This paper defends the partitive genitive analysis on the grounds that Homeric audiences could easily have imagined Zeus getting the horses from some pre-existing stock. Parallels support the plausibility of this background assumption. We do not have a Homeric instance of attractio relativi.

SOMAESTHETICS: a plea for the acknowledgement of contingency and body in the humanistic education

This article outlines the discussion about the importance of the principle of contingency and the role of the body for education in the humanities, according to Richard Shusterman’s neopragmatist philosophy. The background assumption is that it is not possible, for good or ill, to develop any serious approach or inclusive proposal for an enlightened and critical education – especially for philosophy and the humanities – without a mandatory reference to contingency and to the body, one of the most explicit signals of contingency, under the risk of being rendered sterile and useless when confronted with the dynamics brought about by reality. My perspective on Shusterman’s work is sympathetic to his change – both in method and academic bias – from a pure analytical point of view to a much more existential approach, which resulted in a new, revolutionary and interdisciplinary field: “Somaesthetics”. I sustain that amongst contemporary tendencies Shusterman’s ideas represent some of the richest and most exciting contributions regarding the educational possibilities for an integrated human development.Keywords: Somaesthetics. Humanities. Education. Contingency. Body. Richard Shusterman. SOMAESTÉTICA: um apelo pelo reconhecimento da contingência e do corpo na educação humanística Resumo: Este artigo esboça a discussão sobre a importância do princípio da contingência e o papel do corpo para a educação humanística, de acordo com a filosofia neopragmatista de Richard Shusterman. A hipótese de fundo é que não é possível, para bem ou mal, desenvolver qualquer abordagem séria ou proposta inclusiva para uma educação esclarecida e crítica – especialmente para a filosofia e as ciências humanas – sem uma referência obrigatória à contingência e ao corpo, um dos sinais mais explícitos da contingência, sob o risco de ser tornada estéril e inútil quando em confronto com a dinâmica trazida pelo real. Minha perspectiva sobre o trabalho de Shusterman é simpática à sua mudança – tanto no método quanto no viés acadêmico – de um ponto de vista analítico puro para uma abordagem muito mais existencial, que resultou em um campo novo, revolucionário e interdisciplinar: a “Somaestética”. Sustento que, entre as tendências contemporâneas, as ideias de Shusterman representam algumas das contribuições mais ricas e interessantes a respeito das possibilidades educacionais para um desenvolvimento humano integrado.Palavras-chave: Somaestética. Humanidades. Educação. Contingência. Corpo. Richard Shusterman. SOMAESTETICA: un apelo por lo reconocimiento de la contingencia y del cuerpo en la educación humanísticaResumen: En este artículo se describe el debate sobre la importancia del principio de la contingencia y el papel del cuerpo en la educación para las humanidades, de acuerdo con la filosofía neopragmatista de Richard Shusterman. La hipótesis de fondo es que no es posible, para bien o mal, desarrollar cualquier abordaje sería o propuesta inclusiva para una educación ilustrada y crítica – especialmente para la filosofía y las ciencias de las humanidades – sin una referencia obligatoria a la contingencia y al cuerpo, uno de los señales más explícitos de la contingencia, con el riesgo de ser estéril y inútil cuando enfrentada con la dinámica provocada por el real. Mi punto de vista sobre el trabajo de Shusterman simpatiza con su cambio – tanto en el método y el sesgo académico – desde un punto de vista analítico puro para un enfoque mucho más existencial, que resultó en un campo nuevo, revolucionario y interdisciplinario: la “Somaestetica”. Sostengo que, entre las tendencias contemporáneas, las ideas de Shusterman representan algunas de las más ricas y más interesantes contribuciones respectivamente a las posibilidades educativas para un desarrollo humano integrado.Palabras clave: Somaestetica. Humanidades. Educación. Contingencia. Cuerpo. Richard Shusterman.