67 - David Albert & Tim Maudlin: The Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Theory

David Albert is the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, where he directs the Philosophical Foundations of Physics program. Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU. Both David and Tim are renowned as leading philosophers of physics, though their work extends beyond that to the philosophy of science and metaphysics. David is a prior guest (episodes 23 and 30) of Robinson’s Podcast, as is Tim (episode 46). David, Tim, and Robinson discuss the foundations of quantum theory, beginning with its historical motivation, tracking through some important concepts—superposition and the measurement problem—and then exploring some of its philosophical aspects (such as determinism, realism, the potential for backward causation, and more).

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

OUTLINE:

00:00 In This Episode…

00:17 Introduction

2:51 What Motivated the Development of Quantum Theory?

7:05 Superposition and the Measurement Problem

31:42 John Bell’s Theory of Local Beables

44:30 Formalism and Interpretation in Quantum Theory

51:52 The Einstein-Podoksky-Rosen Argument

58:26 On “Interpretations” of Quantum Theory

1:11:17 The Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber Theory of Spontaneous Collapse

1:16:19 The Many Worlds Theory

1:30:46 Determinism

1:46:29 Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory

1:48:28 Realism

1:52:15 Monism and Entanglement

1:58:19 Backward Causation

2:04:32 An Experiment to Further Foundations

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.