PHIL 146: Philosophy of Physics
This quarter the course will focus on spacetime physics, classical and relativistic. (Last year we did foundations of quantum
mechanics.) Topics will include: is space(time) a substance? Is simultaneity conventional? Is physical geometry and topology
conventional? What is a singularity,
really? Does relativity prove that time
doesn’t flow? These fascinating topics
and others have enjoyed extensive treatment in the physics and philosophical
literature. Along the way we will learn
about various classical spacetimes, Minkowski spacetime and then even
a few interesting general relativistic spacetimes. All the physics/math necessary for the course
will be taught in class; the class will definitely be accessible to humanities
students and conceptually challenging to both humanities and science majors.
Instructor: Dr
Craig Callender
Contact details: Rm HSS 8072
822-4911
Office hours: Wed
11-12 and by appt
Place: WLH
2209,
1. Geroch, General
Relativity from A to B. This book is
accessible to absolutely everyone, but it is still quite sophisticated. It is written by one of the foremost
authorities on general relativity in the world today. In it, we’ll find an introduction to the
basic ideas of classical spacetimes and relativistic spacetimes.
2. Reichenbach, The
Philosophy of Space and Time. This
nice little
The
remainder of the readings will consist of:
3. Articles/chapters available electronically on the
E-reserves associated with this
course. Go to reserves.ucsd.edu and
follow the links to the course web site (using either my name or the subject).
4. my notes
Grading.
The
grade will be determined by a major research paper (30%), a take home final
exam (30%), homework sets worth 30%, and a research paper outline (explained in
class) worth 10%. The first paper is due
May 19th . The outline of the topic chosen and path to
pursue is due May 5th. Late papers will be penalized 5% per day
late. Homework will be assigned in class
on a more or less random schedule depending on where we are in the
material. Guidelines and paper topics
are posted here. Attendance will be taken. Much of the material in the course will only
appear in lecture, so anything short of regular attendance will probably
severely damage your grade.
Background
Introducing Time by Craig Callender,
Icon Press, 2001. This is a silly little
book; but it is useful background reading for parts of the course.
Time and Space by Barry Dainton,
2001. The four chapters we need will be
scanned in, but it is a nice readable book that you may wish to purchase.
Foundations of Spacetime Physics, Michael Friedman.
Advanced, but excellent in all ways.
World Enough and Spacetime, John Earman. Advanced on substantivalism
issue, but excellent.
Bangs, Whimpers, Crunches
and Shrieks,
John Earman.
Advanced topics in general relativity—excellent.
Philosophical Problems of Spacetime Theories, Adolph Grunbaum. A classic.
Space, Time, and Spacetime, Larry Sklar. Medium advanced and excellent—about the right
level for this course
Space From Zeno to Einstein, Nick Huggett. Classic readings with insightful and readable
commentary.
The Shape of Space, Nerhlich. Good and readable.
Introduction to the
Philosophy of Science, Salmon et al. Chapter 5 on spacetime by John Norton.
Blackwell Guide to the
Philosophy of Science, Machamer and Silberstein. Ch. 9 on spacetime by Craig Callender and
Carl Hoefer.
Tentative Schedule
I
doubt that we will have time to cover all the following topics, but we will do
what we can in more or less in the order described.
Topic 1. Absolute versus Relational Space:
Aristotelian Spacetime
Events, Spacetime and
Aristotle, Geroch, pp. 3-36
Dainton, “Conceptions of Void”, pp. 132-150
“The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence” in Huggett , Space From Zeno to Einstein , 1999, pp.
143-158.
Concept of metric space: notes
and homework
Topic 2. Absolute versus Relational Space:
Galilean
Galilean View and Problems, Geroch,
pp. 37-52
Dainton, 181-199
Topic 3. Special Relativity
The Interval, Physics and Geometry of
Intervals, Geroch, 53-112
Twin paradox, lecture notes
Topic 4. General Relativity
Einstein’s Equation, Curvature and General
Relativity, Geroch, 113-185
Lecture notes
Topic 5. Absolute versus Relational Spacetime: Relativistic
Maudlin, “Buckets of Water and Waves of Space: Why Spacetime is Probably a Substance”
Dainton, e-reserves chapters
Lecture notes
Topic 6. Conventionality of Physical Geometry
and Topology
Reichenbach,
Chapter 1
Weingard,
Robert. "Realism and the Topology of Spacetime",
on e-reserves
Reichenbach, “the
number of dimensions of space” 273-282
Jean-Pierre Luminet
, Glenn D. Starkman and Jeffrey R. Weeks “Is Space Finite?”
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00065A99-90A6-1CD6-B4A8809EC588EEDF
Topic 7. Conventionality of Simultaneity
Reichenbach, pp.
123-135
Norton, "Philosophy of Space and Time: Malament’s Result", section 5.11
Janis, Allen, “Conventionality of
Simultaneity” http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-convensimul/
Topic 8. Time’s Flow and Relativity
Putnam, Hilary, “Time and Physical Geometry” in Journal of Philosophy 64
(1967): 240-247
Stein, Howard, “On Relativity Theory and the Openness
of the Future,” in Philosophy of Science 58 (1991): 147-167.*
Callender, C. “Shedding Light on Time” Philosophy of Science (Proceedings), 67, 2000, S587-S599.
Kurt
Gödel, “ A Remark About the Relationship Between Relativity Theory and
Idealistic Philosophy”
Savitt,
S. “Being and Becoming in Modern Physics” http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-bebecome/
Lewis, “The Paradoxes of Time Travel” in his Collected Papers (Vol
II): 67-80.
Nahin, technical
note from Time Machines.*
* = not required
Spacetime Links:
Ned Wright's Relativity
Tutorial
The Hole Argument