Reductionism, emergence, and effective field theories

被引:49
作者
Castellani, E [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Florence, Dept Philosophy, I-50139 Florence, Italy
来源
STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN PHYSICS | 2002年 / 33B卷 / 02期
关键词
reductionism; emergence; fundamentality; inter-level relations; quantum field theory; renormalization;
D O I
10.1016/S1355-2198(02)00003-5
中图分类号
N09 [自然科学史]; B [哲学、宗教];
学科分类号
01 ; 0101 ; 010108 ; 060207 ; 060305 ; 0712 ;
摘要
In recent years, a "change in attitude" in particle physics has led to our understanding current quantum field theories as effective field theories (EFT's). The present paper is concerned with the significance of this EFT approach, especially from the viewpoint of the debate on reductionism in science. In particular, I shall show how EFTs provide a new and interesting case study in current philosophical discussion on reduction, emergence, and inter-level relationships in general. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:251 / 267
页数:17
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