Rivat, Sébastien and Grinbaum, Alexei (2019) Philosophical Foundations of Effective Field Theories. [Preprint]
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Abstract
This survey covers some of the main philosophical debates raised by the framework of effective field theories during the last decades. It is centered on three issues: whether effective field theories underpin a specific realist picture of the world, whether they support an anti-reductionist picture of physics, and whether they provide reasons to give up the ultimate aspiration of formulating a final and complete physical theory. Reviewing the past and current literature, we argue that effective field theories do not give convincing reasons to adopt a particular stance towards these speculative issues. They hold good prospects for asking ontologically perspicuous and sensible questions about currently accessible domains. With respect to more fundamental questions, however, the only certainty is provisional and instrumental: effective theories are currently indispensable for conducting fruitful scientific research.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
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| Keywords: | quantum field theory, effective theory, realism, instrumentalism, reduction, emergence | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism |
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| Depositing User: | Alexei Grinbaum | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 13 Sep 2019 19:37 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 13 Sep 2019 19:37 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 16419 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism |
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| Date: | 26 July 2019 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16419 |
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