By Hans Günter Dosch
Viewing actual theories as symbolic structures got here to the fore in the course of the 19th century with the emancipation of the classical idea of the electromagnetic box from mechanics; so much particularly this occurred during the paintings of Helmholtz, Hertz, Poincar?, and later Weyl. The epistemological difficulties that nourished this improvement are at the present time highlighted inside of quantum box idea. the current essay starts with a concise and non-technical define of the firmly dependent features of relativistic quantum box concept, i.e. the very winning description of subnuclear phenomena. the actual equipment, during which those diversified elements must be accessed, then get defined as designated aspects of quantum box concept. The authors convey how those diverse points range with admire to the relation among quantum fields and linked debris. therefore, via emphasising the respective position of varied simple options concerned, the authors declare that just a very common epistemic method can safely account for this variety - an account they hint again to the philosophical writings of the aforementioned physicists and mathematicians. eventually, what they name their semiotic point of view on quantum box conception will get with regards to fresh discussions in the philosophy of technological know-how and seems to behave as a counterbalance to, for example, structural realism.
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Sample text
E. 19 Such competing pictures normally occur if one is simplifying certain aspects of a more complete theory in models. 5. There is a crucial difference between the sign theory of Hertz and that of Helmholtz. Helmholtz’s signs are related to the sensual impressions whereas those of Hertz can be free creations of the mind. ’ Hertz (1894), pp. 1f. ’ Hertz (1894), p. 2. 19 Note that Hertz’s definition of ‘simplicity’ is not like the common blurry one, that one wouldn’t like as a functional relation a polynomial of 27th order or something alike.
The latter, however, is a problem of ‘diachronic existence’ of different theories. Structural realism is adapted to explain why the purported entities of different theories which occur one after the other might change; like in the transition from Fresnel to Maxwell, to use the notorious example. However, it is not adapted to explain why there are different theories that exist at one and the same time – as it is the case with the different facets of quantum field theory. For structural realism would have to maintain that one of the facets is the ‘real’ one.
Thus, the crucial difference between the two levels is that the basic units of the first articulation denote while those of the second articulation lack denotative power. This semiotic terminology can now be applied to what we think are different symbolic representations in modern physics. Classical mechanics, classical field theory, non-relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory should all be taken to be different codes (indeed within quantum field theory further distinctions have to be made as we will see shortly).
