Emergent Ontology and Structural Realism: Quantities as Objects and Objects as Quantities

Applied Philosophy of Science and Epistomology Talk Series

A series of talks organized by APSE (Department of Philosophy). More information here: apse.univie.ac.at/news-events/apse-talks/

Date: 07/03/2024

Time: 15h00

Venue: New Institute Building (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien, HS 3A

Abstract:

I argue that physics' endemic practice of solving problems by defining appropriate quantities suggests a natural formulation of two philosophical doctrines, viz. (i) the claim that the objects of the special sciences (and of everyday life) are patterns, and (ii) ontic structural realism. For physics' focus on its appropriate quantities suggests treating quantities as objects: which gives a formulation of the idea of objects as patterns. And it also suggests treating objects as quantities: which gives a formulation of ontic structural realism. My discussion owes much to work by David Wallace.