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Against fields

  • Dustin Lazarovici
Original Paper in Philosophy of Physics
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Using the example of classical electrodynamics, I argue that the concept of fields as mediators of particle interactions is fundamentally flawed and reflects a misguided attempt to retrieve Newtonian concepts in relativistic theories. This leads to various physical and metaphysical problems that are discussed in detail. In particular, I emphasize that physics has not found a satisfying solution to the self-interaction problem in the context of the classical field theory. To demonstrate the superiority of a pure particle ontology, I defend the direct interaction theory of Wheeler and Feynman against recent criticism and argue that it provides the most cogent formulation of classical electrodynamics.

Keywords

Classical electrodynamics Relativity Fields Action at a distance Primitive ontology 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Michael Esfeld, Dirk-André Deckert and Mario Hubert for helpful comments and discussions. I am also grateful to Detlef Dürr, whose teachings inspired great parts of my research. This work was supported by the Cogito Foundation, grant no. 15-106-R and by a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

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© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Faculté des lettres, Section de philosophieUniversité de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland

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