Reality and the Physicist: Knowledge, Duration and the Quantum World

by Bernard d'Espagnat, J.C. Whitehouse (Translator)

Contemporary physics, especially quantum theory, has raised profound questions about the relationship between the methods of science and the reality these methods seek to investigate. D'Espagnat investigates these questions as well as how we should answer them. Part I examines the practices of contemporary physicists and addresses the criticism philosophers of science have made of these practices. The doctrine of physical realism, adopted by most physicists and many philosophers of science, comprises Part II. Part III explores the consequences of physical realism for our understanding of what science can seek to know of reality, and concludes by outlining the position contemporary physics indicates we should take.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Physics

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Bernard d'Espagnat is a French theoretical physicist, philosopher of science, and author, best known for his work on the nature of reality.

Reviews

[Ms D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult but rewarding analysis of ontological issues in a detailed consideration of quantum mechanics, in terms of how QE can inform our understanding of 'reality in itself' versus 'reality for us.' D'espagnat considers a number of positions, realist, instrumentalist, and so on, and concludes that we have no access to reality in itself, that reality is 'veiled'.