This event is from the archives of The Notice Board. The event has already taken place and the information contained in this post may no longer be relevant or accurate.
The Department of Philosophy presents the following:
How We're Artifactual (And In The Matrix)
Guest Speaker: Gary Graham (Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 12
Location: C-630 (University Hall)
Time: 4 to 5:30 p.m.
How can mathematical objects constitute the primary constituents of reality, and if they do, how can they interact with the world of tables and chairs? And yet, on a very prominent view of quantum mechanics, that’s what is proposed. This was unacceptable to Heisenberg: he insisted that there has to be a mediating object between the quantum mathematical world and our world of experience, the potentia, which is a hybrid object that's partly epistemic, partly mind-independent. It allows for the causal connection (between the two worlds) that’s otherwise missing. However, this formulation of potentia is very problematic. I propose an amended version, completely mind-independent, which resolves the problems but requires a dramatic reconsideration of the nature of fundamental reality.
Contact:
Bev Garnett | bev.garnett@uleth.ca | (403) 380-1894 | ulethbridge.ca/artsci/philosophy