Quantum Field Theory in a Semiotic Perspective

Quantum Field Theory in a Semiotic Perspective

Author: Hans Günter Dosch

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-03-30

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 3540282122

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Viewing physical theories as symbolic constructions came to the fore in the middle of the nineteenth century with the emancipation of the classical theory of the electromagnetic field from mechanics; most notably this happened through the work of Helmholtz, Hertz, Poincaré, and later Weyl. The epistemological problems that nourished this development are today highlighted within quantum field theory. The present essay starts off with a concise and non-technical outline of the firmly based aspects of relativistic quantum field theory, i.e. the very successful description of subnuclear phenomena. The particular methods, by which these different aspects have to be accessed, then get described as distinct facets of quantum field theory. The authors show how these different facets vary with respect to the relation between quantum fields and associated particles. Thus, by emphasising the respective role of various basic concepts involved, the authors claim that only a very general epistemic approach can properly account for this diversity - an account they trace back to the philosophical writings of the aforementioned physicists and mathematicians. Finally, what they call their semiotic perspective on quantum field theory gets related to recent discussions within the philosophy of science and turns out to act as a counterbalance to, for instance, structural realism.


From the Viewpoint of the Lvov-Warsaw School

From the Viewpoint of the Lvov-Warsaw School

Author: Jacek Jadacki

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2022-05-20

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 9004457836

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Main headings: Introduction: Philosophy and precision. - Part I. Being and essence. - Part II. Truth and nonsense. - Part III. Understanding and silence. - Conclusion: Science and creation.


On Comparing and Evaluating Scientific Theories

On Comparing and Evaluating Scientific Theories

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9004457771

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Contents: Leon KOJ: Methodology and values. - Leon KOJ: Science as system. - Adam GROBLER: Explanation and epistemic virtue. - Piotr GIZA: Intelligent computer systems and theory comparison. - Henryk OGRYZKO-WIEWIEROWSKI: Methods of social choice of scientific theories. - Kazimierz JODKOWSKI: Is the causal theory of reference a remedy for ontological incommensurability? - Wolfgang BALZER: On approximative reduction. - C. ULISES MOULINES: Is there genuinely scientific progress? - Adam JONKISZ: On relative progress in science."


Things, Facts and Events

Things, Facts and Events

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 900445781X

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The volume deals with ontological and semantical issues concerning things, facts and events. Ontology tells us about what there is, whereas semantics provides answers to how we refer to what there is. Basic ontological categories are commonly accepted along with basic linguistic types, and linguistic types are accepted as basic if and because they refer to acknowledged ontological categories. In that sense, both disciplines are concerned with structure - the structure of the world and the structure of our language. An extended introduction overviews the topic as a whole, presenting in detail its history and the main contemporary approaches and discussions. More than 20 contributions by internationally acknowledged scholars make the volume a comprehensive study of some very fundamental philosophical entities.


Introduction to Cybersemiotics: A Transdisciplinary Perspective

Introduction to Cybersemiotics: A Transdisciplinary Perspective

Author: Carlos Vidales

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-04-14

Total Pages: 555

ISBN-13: 3030527468

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This book traces the origins and evolution of cybersemiotics, beginning with the integration of semiotics into the theoretical framework of cybernetics and information theory. The book opens with chapters that situate the roots of cybersemiotics in Peircean semiotics, describe the advent of the Information Age and cybernetics, and lay out the proposition that notions of system, communication, self-reference, information, meaning, form, autopoiesis, and self-control are of equal topical interest to semiotics and systems theory. Subsequent chapters introduce a cybersemiotic viewpoint on the capacity of arts and other practices for knowing. This suggests pathways for developing Practice as Research and practice-led research, and prompts the reader to view this new configuration in cybersemiotic terms. Other contributors discuss cultural and perceptual shifts that lead to interaction with hybrid environments such as Alexa. The relationship of storytelling and cybersemiotics is covered at chapter length, and another chapter describes an individual-collectivity dialectics, in which the latter (Commind) constrains the former (interactants), but the former fuels the latter. The concluding chapter begins with the observation that digital technologies have infiltrated every corner of the metropolis - homes, workplaces, and places of leisure - to the extent that cities and bodies have transformed into interconnected interfaces. The book challenges the reader to participate in a broader discussion of the potential, limitations, alternatives, and criticisms of cybersemiotics.


The Rationality of Theism

The Rationality of Theism

Author: Adolfo García de la Sienra

Publisher: Rodopi

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 9789042012127

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This is a controversial collection of brand new papers by some outstanding philosophers and scholars. Its aim is to offer comprehensive theistic replies to the traditional arguments against the existence of God.


Pragmatic Idealism

Pragmatic Idealism

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2023-05-15

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 900445764X

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The System of Pragmatic Idealism is of special importance for Nicholas Rescher's philosophical work, because here he has presented the systematic approach at once. Dedicated to his 70th birthday a group of European and U.S-american philosophers discuss the main topics of Rescher's philosophical system. The contributions which are presented here for the first time and Nicholas Rescher's responses cover the most important topics of philosophy and give a deep and detailed insight into the strenght of Rescher's pragmatic idealism. This volume is of interest for philosophers studying Rescher's philosophy and for all those who are interested in systematic philosophy and the vividnes of pragmatism and idealism in present philosophy.