SMuK 2023 – scientific programme

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AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik

AGPhil 9: Quantum Foundations 5

AGPhil 9.2: Talk

Thursday, March 23, 2023, 14:30–15:00, JAN/0027

Heterodox underdetermination: metaphysical options for discernibility and (non-)entanglement — •Maren Bräutigam — University of Cologne

There are largely three views on whether Leibniz`s Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles (PII) is violated by similar particles. According to the earliest view, PII is always violated (call this the no discernibility view). According to the more recent weak discernibility view, PII is valid in a weak sense. No and weak discernibility have been referred to as orthodoxy. Steven French has argued that although PII is violated, similar particles can still be regarded as individuals. However, as it is equally possible to regard them as non-individuals, French famously concluded that metaphysics is underdetermined by physics. Call this thesis orthodox underdetermination. Most recently, some authors have turned against orthodoxy by arguing that PII is valid in more than a weak sense. Call this the new discernibility view, also referred to as heterodoxy. As heterodoxy is backed up by physical considerations, metaphysics now seems to be determined by physics: physics indicates that PII is valid. In this talk, I argue that, despite appearances, heterodox metaphysics is just as underdetermined by the physics as orthodox metaphysics; in other words, I argue for heterodox underdetermination. Heterodox underdetermination is problematic because it leaves us with the choice between two crucially different understandings of entanglement, thereby preventing us from getting a clear metaphysical picture of this peculiar phenomenon.