Philosophy of Physics

PHL 356, Winter 2018



Course Information

time: Wednesdays, 9:00am-12:00pm
room: OISE 8170
instructor: Michael Miller

email: mike.miller@utoronto.ca
office: JHB 514
office hours: Thursday, 1pm-3pm

Course Documents

Syllabus

Midterm Exam

Final Exam

Schedule*

*Subject to revision.

DateTopicReadingDue
Jan 10IntroductionAlbert
Jan 17Special Relativity I
Why Philosophy of Science?		Norton, The Principles, Clocks & Rods, Relativity of simultaneity
Weinberg, Krauss
Jan 24Special Relativity II
Realism I		Norton, E=mc^2, Spacetime, Spacetime & Relativity of Simultaneity
Weinberg, Ch. 1, Ch. 2
Jan 31Quantum Mechanics I
Realism II		Albert Ch. 1
Hacking, Introduction, Ch. 1, Ch. 2		HW1
Feb 7Quantum Mechanics II (slides)
Realism III		Albert Ch. 2
Hacking Ch. 5-6, 8
Feb 14Quantum Mechanics III
Anti-realism I		Albert Ch.3
Pickering Ch. 1, Ch. 14		HW2
Feb 16MidtermMidterm Exam
Feb 21Reading WeekNo Class
Feb 28Quantum Mechanics IV
Anti-realism II		Albert Ch. 4
Laudan
Mar 7Quantum Field Theory I
Anti-realism III		Feynman Ch. 1-2
Van Fraassen		HW3
Mar 14Quantum Field Theory II
Experiment I		 Feynman Ch. 3-4
Hacking
Mar 21Quantum Field Theory III
Experiment II		Randall
Hacking, Ch. 9, Ch. 10		HW4
Mar 28Quantum Field Theory IV
Experiment III		Randall
Hacking Ch. 13, Ch. 16
Apr 4Beyond the Standard Model
Where we have been		Ellis
Redhead, Isms and Schisms		HW5
Final Exam