Structure of the world : metaphysics and representation / Steven French.

Print version record.

Steven French articulates and defends the bold claim that there are no objects in the world. He draws on metaphysics and philosophy of science to argue for structural realism - the position that we live in a world of structures - and defends a form of eliminativism about objects that sets laws and symmetry principles at the heart of ontology.

""Cover""; ""The Structure of the World: Metaphysics and Representation""; ""Copyright""; ""Preface""; ""Contents""; ""1: Theory Change: From Fresnel�s Equations to Group-Theoretic Structure""; ""1.1 Introduction""; ""1.2 Challenge No. 1: The Pessimistic Meta-Induction (PMI)""; ""1.3 Semi-Realism and Property-Oriented Realism""; ""1.4 ESR and �Hidden� Natures""; ""1.5 Another Case Study: the Zeeman Effect""; ""1.6 Quantum Mechanics and Heuristic Plasticity""; ""2: Mixing in the Metaphysics 1: Underdetermination""; ""2.1 Introduction""; ""2.2 Challenge Number 2: Underdetermination""

""2.3 Breaking the Underdetermination1: Appeal to Metaphysics""""2.4 Breaking the Underdetermination2: Appeal to Heuristic Fruitfulness""; ""2.5 Breaking the Underdetermination3: Appeal to Less Structure""; ""2.6 Breaking the Underdetermination4: Appeal to the More 'Natural� Formulation""; ""2.7 Metaphysical Underdetermination""; ""2.8 Breaking the Underdetermination5: �Weak� Discernibility""; ""2.9 Breaking the Underdetermination6: Non-Individuality and QFT""; ""2.10 Don�t Break It: Embrace It""; ""2.11 Don�t Break It: Seek the Commonalities""; ""2.12 Concluding Remarks""

""3: Mixing in the Metaphysics 2: Humility""""3.1 Introduction""; ""3.2 The Viking Approach to Metaphysics""; ""3.3 The Informing of Metaphysics by Physics""; ""3.4 Handling Humility""; ""3.5 Gaining Understanding while Reducing Humility""; ""3.6 Manifestations of Humility in the Realism Debate""; ""4: Scenes from the Lost History of Structuralism""; ""4.1 Introduction""; ""4.2 The Poincare� Manoeuvre""; ""4.3 The Analysis of Matter""; ""4.4 Wigner, Weyl, and the Application of Group Theory to Quantum Statistics""; ""4.5 Eddington�s Subjective Structuralism""

""4.6 Scribbling on the Blank Sheet""""4.7 The Battle with Braithwaite""; ""4.8 Cassirer�s Kantianism""; ""4.9 From Kant to neo-Kantianism""; ""4.10 Space-time, Structures, and Group Theory""; ""4.11 Quantum Mechanics, Causality, and Objects""; ""4.12 What We Can Take from Cassirer""; ""4.13 Conclusion""; ""5: The Presentation of Objects and the Representation of Structure""; ""5.1 Introduction: Presentation vs Representation""; ""5.2 Modes of Representation: Partial Structures""; ""5.3 Modes of Representation: Shared Structure""; ""5.4 Modes of Presentation: Group Theory""

""5.5 Spin and Structural Realism""""5.6 Set Theory as Cleaver""; ""5.7 Presentation of Objects and Properties via Shared Structure""; ""5.8 Doing Useful Work""; ""5.9 Modes of Representation: the Ramsey Sentence""; ""5.10 Realism, Reference, and Representation""; ""5.11 Models, Mediation, and Transparency""; ""5.12 Modes of Representation: Morphisms""; ""5.13 Modes of Representation: Structure as Primitive""; ""5.14 Conclusion: Presentation and Representation""; ""6: OSR and �Group Structural Realism�""; ""6.1 Introduction""; ""6.2 Concern 1: Toppling the Tower of Automorphism""

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide