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Weinberg on QFT: Demonstrative Induction and Underdetermination

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Abstract

In this essay I examine a recent argument by Steven Weinberg that seeks to establish local quantum field theory as the only type of quantum theory in accord with the relevent evidence and satisfying two basic physical principles. I reconstruct the argument as a demonstrative induction and indicate it's role as a foil to the underdetermination argument in the debate over scientific realism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy– 065, University of California, Riverside Riverside, CA, USA

    Jonathan Bain

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  1. Jonathan Bain
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Bain, J. Weinberg on QFT: Demonstrative Induction and Underdetermination. Synthese 117, 1–30 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005025424031

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005025424031

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