The Classical–Quantum Correspondence

This Element provides an entry point for philosophical engagement with quantization and the classical limit.

Benjamin H. Feintzeig (Author)

9781009044318, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 January 2023

122 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 0.8 cm, 0.2 kg

'… the book successfully walks a tight rope, by providing technical precision alongside a broad survey of the fruitfulness of quantization theory.' Eugene Y. S. Chua, Metascience

This Element provides an entry point for philosophical engagement with quantization and the classical limit. It introduces the mathematical tools of C*-algebras as they are used to compare classical and quantum physics. It then employs those tools to investigate philosophical issues surrounding theory change in physics. It discusses examples in which quantization bears on the topics of reduction, structural continuity, analogical reasoning, and theory construction. In doing so, it demonstrates that the precise mathematical tools of algebraic quantum theory can aid philosophers of science and philosophers of physics.

1. Introduction
2. C*-algebras of physical quantities
3. Quantization and the classical limit
4. Intertheoretic reduction
5. Interpretation
6. Theory construction
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Quantum physics [quantum mechanics & quantum field theory PHQ], Classical mechanics [PHD], Philosophy of science [PDA]