Скачать или смотреть Tushar Menon (Cambridge) – Metaphysical Indeterminacy in NC Geometry – BBLOC Philosophy of Physics

Title: Metaphysical Indeterminacy in Noncommutative Geometry

This talk took place on 18th March 2021 as part of the Birmingham-Bristol-London-Oxford-Cambridge Philosophy of Physics Seminar Series.
More information here: https://kingsphilosophy.com/bbloc/

Abstract: In this talk, I introduce a family of approaches to quantum geometry that collectively go under the name of `noncommutative geometries’ (NCGs), expressed in the formalism of spectral triples, developed by Alain Connes and collaborators. I will discuss an interesting interpretative puzzle to which spectral triples give rise: what we might call the `indeterminacy of location’ puzzle.

‘Indeterminacy of location’ applies to situations in which, for whatever reason, according to the theory, nature does not ascribe to an entity a determinate a matter of fact about its spatial location below a particular scale. The puzzle, accordingly, is to characterise this particular brand of indeterminacy and understand the consequent metaphysical commitments of NCGs regarding space. I demonstrate how we can marshal some standard metaphysical and semantic resources to solve this puzzle.

[This talk is based on work done in collaboration with Nick Huggett and Fedele Lizzi]