I teach at Northern Illinois University, in Dekalb Il, USA, where we have a Bachelor and a Master program in Philosophy. Some of the classes I teach are exclusively for undergraduate students, and others are exclusively for graduate students. There are also classes which are designed to be taken by both graduates and undergraduates, like the class for which this syllabus was designed. This is a hard class to teach, because of the different backgrounds the students have. However, it is also very engaging and fun, given that I have the possibility to share my passion for the subject, which is my main area of research, not only to graduate students but also to undergraduates as well.
This class was created in part because students kept coming to office hours asking questions about philosophy of physics and expressing interest in it. Since it is always advisable to introduce students in the humanities to STEM related topics, everyone thought it was a good idea to create a class like this one.
I developed the course inspired by the work of many other friends and colleagues in the discipline. Some of the readings are standard, some are more focused on the “hot” topics in philosophy of physics, and some are directly connected with topics I am working on (or that I would like to work on in the near future).
I think having courses like this is important because usually philosophy students (and not only them) get intimidated by formalism or technical details. So, one of the aims of my class is for students to be able to be comfortable discussing physical theories, their structure and their formalization. This allows them to engage in the philosophical problems raised by the theories without being hostages of the mathematics. In order to accomplish this, I demystify the technical aspects as much as I can: I present the main mathematical ingredients needed to understand the formalism, I clearly distinguish when a difficulty is a technical one or a conceptual one, and I use formulas only when they are needed to understand the point I want to make.
I like to add additional topics that may be of interest to the students even if it is likely that we will end up not covering them in class because of time constraints. This makes clear to the students that there is so much more in the discipline that one could discuss and be excited about! The students also like the fact that I suggest so many books, even if I could definitely suggest more. I add new books every time I teach the class!
Every time I teach this class I end up changing something, depending on how the previous time went, by adding, removing, and changing topics, readings, as well as assessment methods.
One piece of advice if you want to teach a class like this: make sure that you cover some of your research interests! This will make the class material much more engaging for the students, who will immediately recognize your interest in the topic by your sparkling eyes. Not to mention that students, with their fresh perspectives, will surely give you some new ideas to think about.
Here is the syllabus.
PHILOSOPHY 464/564: Philosophy of Physics
Valia Allori vallori@niu.edu
Course description
This course is an introduction to the philosophy and foundations of physics, with a goal of understanding both the theoretical framework and some of the philosophical problems connected with them. We will thus examine conceptual problems in classical and statistical mechanics, classical electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, and special and general relativity. Throughout, we will consider the relations between physics and philosophy.
Required texts
There is no required text; readings will be provided on Blackboard.
Interesting books (in alphabetical order) – not required, but fun
(Not exhaustive list. Not even close)
- D. Albert, Quantum Mechanics and Experience;
- D. Albert, Time and Chance
- J.S. Bell, Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics;
- S. Carroll, From Eternity to here;
- R. Feynman, The Feynman Lecture on Physics Vol. 1;
- R. Geroch, General Relativity from A to B;
- B. Greene, The Fabric of the Cosmos;
- M. Lange, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics: Locality, Fields, Energy, and Mass;
- T. Maudlin, Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity.
- T. Maudlin, Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time;
- P. Lewis,Quantum Ontology: A Guide to the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics;
- D. Rickles,The Philosophy of Physics.
Requirements and grading
Reading for each class:
Students are required to complete each reading assignment prior to the class period for which it has been assigned, and to come to class prepared to discuss it. Readings can be difficult, you will need to read them slowly, carefully and more than once in order to understand them at the level needed for the class.
Attendance and participation:
- UNDERGRADUATES (464): Attendance and participation in lectures count for 5% of your final grade: if you decide not to come to class for more than 3/4 of the time, you will lose this 5% of the grade but you can still pass the class. To monitor attendance, an attendance sheet will circulate every class. Attendance at lectures is highly recommended: since lectures will outline arguments in the readings, summarize key themes and ideas, discuss objections, and will also discuss things in ways that are not done in the readings you miss class at your own risk. Note that if you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes and in–class announcements from a classmate.
Participation can only help your grade, not hurt it. To get credit for participation, you will have to submit (at the end of the relevant class) a brief summary with your name, a brief summary of the question you asked, and the date in which you asked it: you do not want to rely on my memory!
- (GRADUATES)564: Attendance at lectures is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended.
Exams/Papers/ Literature review: We will discuss the detailed nature of the exams when the time comes.
- 464: A take home midterm (47.5% of your final grade) and a non-cumulative take home final exam (47.5% of your final grade).
- 564: An in-class midterm (20% of your final grade), a non-cumulative in-class final exam (20% of your final grade), and a final term paper (60% of your final grade).
Prerequisites
There are no official prerequisites for this class. I will not assume any mathematics or physics background beyond the usual high school level.
Schedule
The following is a tentative schedule for the class. Topics and assigned readings will be adjusted as we go. So please rely on Blackboard for detailed reading assignments and communications about schedule changes.
Week 1
Introduction – Physics and philosophy
The philosophy of physics; the relationship between physics, metaphysics, science, and philosophy of science.
- Readings: Callender, “Philosophy of Science and Metaphysics;” Haley, “Science as a Guide to Metaphysics;” Greene, “Roads to Reality” (ch. 1).
Physics and mathematics review
Euclidean geometry; vectors and scalars; basic calculus (needed for the course); kinematic and dynamics.
- Readings: Feynman, “Motion” (ch. 8), “Vectors” (ch. 11.4-7).
IF THERE IS TIME: Zeno’s paradoxes
- Readings: Huggett, “Zeno’s paradoxes” (SEP).
Week 2
Newtonian and Galilean space and time
Absolute space, absolute time, relationalism vs substantivalism; Newtonian space-time, Galilean space-time and other space-times.
- Reading: Greene “The Universe and a Bucket”(ch 2); Huggett, “Absolute and Relational Conceptions of Space and Time (SEP); Geroch, “Events in Spacetime” (ch. 1), “The Aristotelian View” (ch. 2), “The Galilean View” (ch. 3); Huggett, “Space-Time.”
Week 3
The laws of physics
The nature of laws; Humean supervenience.
- Readings: Carroll, “Laws of Nature” (SEP); Dretske, “Laws of Nature;” Lewis, “Laws of Nature” and “Humean Supervenience;” Loewer, “Humean Supervenience;” Maudlin, “Why be Humean?” and “A Modest Proposal Concerning Laws, Counterfactuals and Explanations.”
Newtonian dynamics and gravitation
Newton’s law of motion; Newtonian gravity and other forces; energy.
- Readings: Feynman, “Newton’s Laws of Dynamics” (ch. 9), “The Conservation of Momentum” (ch. 10.1-4), “The Theory of Gravitation” (ch. 7).
IF THERE IS TIME: Other mathematical reformulations of Newtonian mechanics
The Lagrangian and the Hamiltonian reformulation of classical mechanics and their ontological significance (if any).
- Readings: North, “The “Structure” of Physics: A Case Study” and “Structure in Classical Mechanics;” Penrose, “Lagrangians and Hamiltonians” (Ch. 20 of “The Road to Reality”).
Week 4
Symmetries and conservation laws
Conservation laws; time reversal invariance and other symmetry properties.
- Readings: Albert, “Time Reversal Invariance” (T&C ch. 1); Feynman, “Symmetries in Physics” (ch. 11.1-2+ch 52),
Determinism
- Readings: Norton, “The Dome: An Unexpectedly Simple Failure of Determinism,” Malament, “Norton’s Slippery Slope.”
Week 5
Thermodynamics
Laws of the gases, laws of thermodynamics
- Readings: Albert, “Thermodynamics” (T&C ch. 2).
Statistical mechanics and the direction of time
Statistical mechanics; reduction to classical mechanics; entropy; the second law.
- Readings: Albert “Statistical Mechanics” (T&C ch. 3.1-3); Greene, “Chance and the Arrow” (ch. 6); Callender, “Reducing Thermodynamics to Statistical Mechanics: The Case of Entropy;” Goldstein, “Boltzmann’s Approach to Statistical Mechanics.”
Week 6
Statistical mechanics and cosmology
The past hypothesis; the nature of the statistical explanation; the role of gravity; the multiverse and baby universes; explanatory initial conditions.
- Readings: Albert, “The Reversibility Objection and the Past Hypothesis” (T&C ch. 4); Carroll, “The Past through Tomorrow” (ch. 15), “Epilogue” (ch.16); Callender, “Measures, Explanations and the Past: Should ‘Special’ Initial Conditions be Explained?” Price, “On the Origin of the Arrow of Time: Why there is still a Puzzle about the Low Entropy Past.”
Week 7 & 8
Introduction to quantum theories
Experimental failure of classical mechanics; Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle; quantization rules.
- Readings: Feynman, “Quantum Behavior” (ch.37).
The formalism
Linear operators; matrices; eigenvalues and eigenvectors; the wave function; Schrödinger’s vs Heisenberg’s dynamics.
- Readings: Albert, “Superpositions” (QM ch. 1), “The Mathematical Formalism and the Standard Way of Thinking about it” (QM ch. 2); Maudlin, “Overview” (Epilogue).
Week 9 & 10
Nonlocality
The EPR argument; nonlocality; Bell’s theorem; hidden variables.
- Readings: Albert, “Nonlocality” (QM ch. 3); Maudlin, “Bell’s Theorem” (ch. 1); Bell, “Bertelmann’s Socks and the Nature of Reality” (ch. 16); Einstein Podolsky and Rosen “Can the Quantum-mechanical Description of Reality be Considered Complete?”
The measurement problem
The superposition principle; the measurement problem; the standard view of quantum mechanics.
- Readings: Albert, “The Measurement Problem”(QM ch. 4); Bell, “Against ‘Measurement’” (ch. 23); Schrödinger, “The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics.”
Week 10 & 11
Solutions to the measurement problem
The Copenhagen interpretation; the collapse of the wave function; ‘additional’ variables; the existence of a multiverse.
- Readings: Albert QM ch 5-7; Albert and Loewer, “Tails of Schrodinger’s Cat;” Albert and Loewer, “Interpreting the Many-Worlds Interpretation;” Bell, “On the Impossible Pilot Wave;” Bell, “Are there Quantum Jumps?” (ch. 22); Bell, “Six Possible Worlds for Quantum Mechanics” (ch. 20); Goldstein “Bohmian Mechanics,” Wallace, “Everett and Structure.”
The wave function and ontology
The ontological status of the wave function; the nature of space; local beables.
- Readings: Bell, “The Theory of Local Beables” (ch. 7); Albert, “Elementary Quantum Metaphysics;” Monton, “Wave Function Ontology;” Maudlin, “Completeness, Supervenience, and Ontology,” Allori “Primitive Ontology and the Structure of Fundamental Physical Theories.”
Week 12
Special Relativity
Michelson Moreley experiment; Principles of relativity theory; Lorentz transformations; length contraction and time dilation.
- Reading: Feynman, “The Special Theory of Relativity” (ch. 15.1-6); Maudlin, “Relativity and Space-Time Structure” (ch. 2); Geroch, “Difficulties with the Galilean View” (ch. 4).
Relativistic spacetime
Minkowsky spacetime; light cone structure; the twin paradox
- Readings: Geroch, “The Interval” (ch. 5), “Physics and Geometry of the Interval” (ch. 6); Feynmann, “Spacetime” (ch. 17.1-3); Greene, “The Frozen River” (ch. 5).
Week 13 & 14
The nature of time
The block universe; the growing block; the moving spotlight; presentism; etermalism; compatibility with physics.
- Readings: Putnam, “Time and Physical Geometry;” Sider, “Presentism and Special Relativity;” Goedel, “A Remark about the Relationship between Relativity Theory and Idealistic Philosophy.”
General relativity
Gravity and spacetime curvature; geometry on curved spaces; Einstein’s equation; light cone structure in curved spacetime; black holes; gravitational waves.
- Reading: Geroch, “Einstein’s Equation” (ch. 7), “An Example: Black Holes” (ch. 8); Maudlin, “Life in Elastic Space-Time” (ch. 8).
The ‘Hole’ Argument
General relativity and the Relationalism vs. Substantivalism debate
- Reading: Norton, “The Hole Argument”
Week 15
Time travel
The paradoxes of time travel; spacetimes that allow for time travel.
- Readings: Arntzenius, “Time Travel:Double Your Fun”; Greene, “Teleporters and Time Machines” (ch. 15); Lewis, “The Paradoxes of Time Travel.”
IF THERE IS TIME: Quantum mechanics and relativity
How the two theories are in tension, and how the tension can be perhaps dissolved.
- Readings: Maudlin, “Points of View” (ch. 7), “Morales” (ch. 9); Bell, “How to Teach Special Relativity” (ch. 9); Maudlin, “Nonlocal Correlations in Quantum Theory: How the Trick Might be Done.”
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Valia Allori
Valia Allori is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at Northern Illinois University. She has studied physics in Italy, her home country, and then philosophy at Rutgers, in the United States. She is interested in metaphysics, philosophy of science, and (especially) philosophy of physics.
