Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Philosophy of physics: a short reading list

Jeremy Butterfield

General introductions

The best place to start is with Cushing, J. [1998], Philosophical Concepts in Physics, Cambridge: CUP. Sklar, L., [1992], Philosophy of Physics, Oxford: OUP is also good. Both cover the three main areas of research in the foundations and philosophy of physics: quantum mechanics, space and time, and statistical mechanics. Both contain detailed suggestions for further reading; and Cushing engages in detail with the history of physics. Other introductions include:

  • Lange, M., [2002], An Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics, London: Blackwell, is less general, emphasising locality, fields, energy and mass. But it addresses these issues well, and focusses on general philosophical points.
  • Torretti, R., [1999], The Philosophy of Physics, Cambridge: CUP, takes a historical approach and is more general in scope.
  • Davies, P., ed., [1989], The New Physics, Cambridge: CUP, has some helpful introductory articles for those needing background on modern physics.

The state of the art in philosophy of physics is represented by: Butterfield, J and Earman, J. (eds) [2006], Philosophy of Physics, part of the multi-volume Handbook of Philosophy of Science, Elsevier. All the Chapters are downloadable from the Pittsburgh or Physics e-arXives.

Quantum mechanics

Good introductions avoiding all formalism include: Rae, A., [1986], Quantum Physics: Illusion or Reality?, Cambridge: CUP; Maudlin, T., [1994], Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity, Oxford: Blackwell; and Davies, P. and Brown, J. eds. [1986], The Ghost in the Atom, Cambridge: CUP (a collection of interviews).

  • R.I.G. Hughes' The Structure and Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is a good introductory text. For those with little physics background and those whose undergraduate physics did not dwell on the formalism of QM, the first few chapters go through the basics.
  • Another introduction, focussing mainly on the measurement problem, with almost no formalism and a very informal prose-style, is Albert, D., [1992], Quantum Mechanics and Experience, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • J.S. Bell's Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics is the collection of Bell's (great) papers on the philosophy of QM. They vary in difficulty; there is bound to be something in there for you.
  • Wheeler and Zurek's (eds) Quantum Theory and Measurement is a collection of classic papers on the interpretation of quantum mechanics going back to the Einstein-Bohr debate.
  • M. Jammer's The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics includes historical material.
  • More recent specialist books include: M. Redhead, Incompleteness, Nonlocality and Realism [1987]; B. van Fraassen, Quantum Mechanics [1991], J. Bub, Interpreting the Quantum World [1997].

Space and time

The best overall introduction avoiding all formalism is Sklar, L. [1977] Space, Time, and Spacetime, University of California Press. Much of the philosophical agenda was set by: Reichenbach, H. [1958] Philosophy of Space and Time.

  • N. Huggett's (ed.) Space from Zeno to Einstein is a collection of readings from Plato to Einstein. G. Belot et al's (eds) Spacetime is a collection of recent articles.
  • J. Earman's World Enough and Space-Time is the main recent philosophical monograph on absolute versus relational theories of space and time. J. Barbour's The End of Time advocates a Machian perspective.
  • Modern classics include: R. Torretti's Relativity and Geometry, M. Friedman's Foundations of Space-Time Theories, and J Earman's Bangs, Crunches, Whimpers and Shrieks.
  • More recent specialist books, which engage in detail with the history of physics, include: H. Brown, Physical Relativity [2005]; T. Ryckman, The Reign of Relativity [2005]; R. DiSalle, Understanding Space-Time [2006].

Thermal physics

The best place to start is Sklar, L. [1993] Physics and Chance: Philosophical Issues in the Foundations of Statistical Mechanics, Cambridge: CUP. It both introduces the main topics, and provides detailed bibliographies. Other books include:

  • Reichenbach, H., [1956], The Direction of Time, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
  • Ehrenfest, P., and Ehrenfest, T., [1959], The Conceptual Foundations of the Statistical Approach in Mechanics, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
  • Emch, G. and Liu, C. [2002], The Logic of Thermo-statl physics, Berlin: Springer.

Journals

Journals specifically devoted to foundations of physics include:

Internet resources

Internet resources with strong listings in the philosophy of physics: