Not news about our project, but a resource that will be of interest to readers, and should be more widely known. Four years ago, philosophers and physicists got together to discuss the future of time in quantum gravity (and indeed linguistics and psychology). Videos of the talks – including Albert, Butterfield, Dowker, Ellis, Price, Rovelli, Sorkin, and more – are available here:

http://sydney.edu.au/centre_for_time/events/videos.shtml

There was also an issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Science devoted to the meeting:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.2014.1326.issue-1/issuetoc

Apologies for old news, but I just remembered how interesting the meeting was – and relevant to our interests.

We have just posted video of the talks by Josh Norton, Tatyana Shestakova, Ko Sanders, and Marko Vojinovic. See Our YouTube Channel or click on ‘Speakers’ above. Enjoy.

After the Philosophy of Science Association meeting break, we are back for the final talks of the year, starting with Shamik Dasgupta (University of California, Berkeley) at UIC on Wednesday November 16th at 11am in Chicago. Please join us – more information above.

Physical Salience and Autonomy: Could Spacetime be an Emergent Phenomenon?

Abstract: There has recently been much interest in the question of whether space could be derivative from some kind of non-spatial structure. But what conditions must be satisfied if the resulting space is to be, to use Tim Maudlin’s phrase, “physically salient”? Some suggest that there is an epistemic constraint to the effect that it must be “fully transparent” or “immediately intelligible” how space emerges out of the non-spatial structure. In particular, David Chalmers develops this constraint in terms of apriori entailment. But is there really an epistemic constraint like this? If so, why? What is it about something being “derivative from” something else that requires this epistemic connection between the two? I will explore an answer to this latter question, thereby defending epistemic constraints like these from some recent objections. In terms of technical difficulty, this talk rates 1/5  

If you are looking for the handout for our PSA presentation, they are here:

http://bit.ly/2fcwVOY

Live from/in Geneva (more details above):

Elena Castellani (University of Florence): Duality and emergence: the case of weak/strong duality

Abstract: The two notions of duality and emergence seem to be in an intriguing relation: on the one side, they seem to be closely connected, on the other side, they are clearly distinct —- perhaps even mutually exclusive? The key feature, in the case of duality, is the kind of equivalence that is entailed between the two theories (or the two descriptions of the same theory, in case of self-duality). In the case of emergence, the focus is rather on the aspect of novelty that the notion entails, and thus, apparently, on a lack of equivalence between the two theoretical descriptions. The dualities which are of great relevance in field and string theory, however, seem to be related to emergence: in many cases, the dual correspondence seems to give a form of emergence (new particles or new phenomena). How to combine these apparently contrasting features?

This talk is directly connected to the preceding talk by Sebastian de Haro discussing the relation between duality and emergence in the case of gauge/gravity duality (Geneva, 14.01.2016). Here, the same issue is discussed in another relevant duality case, that is, weak-strong duality or S-duality (as is usual to call it in the context of string theory) — a duality which has become a basic ingredient in field and string theories especially since the 1990s. In particular, the focus will be on the meaning of the dual correspondence between ‘elementary’ and ‘composite’ particles that this kind of duality apparently implies. At first sight, the correspondence could be interpreted as giving rise to new objects or a new way of looking at the same objects. The question is then how to intend this novelty feature given the symmetric character of the dual correspondence. The general aim is to explore whether and in which sense comparing duality and emergence can be a helpful exercise for the philosophical reflection on their meaning.

In terms of technical difficulty, this talk rates 3/5

We are hosting a lunch at the PSA in Atlanta, on Thursday, November 3, 12:20 pm – 1:20 pm. Seats are limited (and going fast), but please join us to talk about quantum gravity. You can sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4ea8ad23a0f58-psa2016

See you there!

A final reminder to please submit your papers for our annual essay prize – $1000, a visit to UIC or Geneva, and publication in an edited collection are at stake! More details are here:

Essay Prize 2016

• Wednesday 19 October 2016 at Geneva – Marko Vojinovic (University of Belgrade): Quantum gravity, metaphysics, spacetime emergence and locality

Abstract: We will present a brief overview of the various approaches to quantum gravity, with the emphasis on the following questions: (1) why quantize gravity, (2) how to quantize gravity, (3) what is spacetime emergence, and (4) the role of metaphysics in all the above. We will also touch upon the foundational issues of diffeomorphism-symmetric quantum mechanics, and the interplay between locality, the measurement problem, the Schrodinger’s cat paradox and quantum cosmology, leading to some open questions at the foundation of both gravity and quantum mechanics.

In terms of technical difficulty, this talk rates 4/5 

The second of our prize winners will be speaking in Geneva on Wednesday – and via video at UIC and on YouTube. Please join us!

Ko Sanders (University of Leipzig): What can (mathematical) categories tell us about space-time?

Abstract: It is widely believed that in quantum theories of gravity, the classical description of space-time as a manifold is no longer viable as a fundamental concept. Instead, space-time emerges as a suitable approximation. In order to understand what is required to explain this emergence, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the classical structure of space-time.

In this presentation I will focus on the concept of space-time as it appears in locally covariant quantum field theory (LCQFT), an axiomatic framework for describing quantum field theories in the presence of gravitational background fields. A key aspect of LCQFT is the way in which it formulates locality and general covariance, using the language of category theory.

I will argue that the use of category theory gives a precise and explicit statement of how space-time acts as an organizing principle in a systems view of the world. Along the way I will indicate how categories turn physical theories into a kind of models for modal logic, and how the categorical view of space-time shifts the emphasis away from the manifold structure. The latter point suggests that the view of space-time as an organizing principle may persist, even in a quantum theory of gravity, but it may raise new questions.

This is a reminder that this year’s essay prize deadline is October 31st! More information is here: https://beyondspacetime.net/essay-prize-2017-cfp/ – the bottom line is there is a $1000 prize, a talk at one of the centers, and publication in a volume we are editing. Please submit!