Narrow Results

The conceptual foundation of the Englert–Brout–Higgs (EBH) mechanism (understood as a set of a scalar field’s couplings to a gauge system and a fermion system) is clarified (as being provided by broken symmetry solution of the scalar field and broken symmetry solutions of the gauge and fermion systems induced by the scalar field’s couplings to these systems, which are manifested in massive scalar and vector bosons as a result of reorganizing the physical degrees of freedom in the scalar and gauge sectors, whose original organization renders possible the broken symmetry solution to the scalar sector and symmetrical solutions to the gauge sector); its ontological status, as a physically real mechanism or merely an instrumental device, is examined, and a new ontologically primary entity, the symbiont of scalar–vector moments is suggested to replace the old ontology of scalar field and vector (gauge) field as the physical underpinning for a realistic understanding of the EBH mechanism; with a conclusion that two puzzles, the transmutation of the Goldstone modes’ dynamic identity and the fixity in reorganizing the physical degrees of freedom within the symbiont, have to be properly addressed before a consistent realist understanding of the mechanism can be developed.

In this paper, we consider a hidden variable theoretical description of successive measurements of non-commuting spin observables on an input spin-s state. Although these spin observables are non-commuting, they act on different states, and so the joint probabilities for the outputs of successive measurements are well-defined. We show that, in this scenario, hidden variable theory (HVT) leads to Bell-type inequalities for the correlation between the outputs of successive measurements. We account for the maximum violation of these inequalities by quantum correlations (i.e. the correlations of successive measurements on a quantum state) by varying the spin value and the number of successive measurements. Our approach can be used to obtain a measure of the deviation of Quantum Mechanics from the theory obeying realism and time-locality, in terms of the amount of classical information needed to be transferred between successive measurements in order to simulate the above-mentioned correlations in successive measurements.

The aim of this note is to attract attention of the quantum foundational community to the fact that in Bell’s arguments, one cannot distinguish two hypotheses: (a) quantum mechanics is nonlocal, (b) quantum mechanics is nonergodic. Therefore, experimental violations of Bell’s inequality can be as well interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that stochastic processes induced by quantum measurements are nonergodic. The latter hypothesis was discussed actively by Buonomano since 1980. However, in contrast to Bell’s hypothesis on nonlocality, it did not attract so much attention. The only experiment testing the hypothesis on nonergodicity was performed in neutron interferometry (by Summhammer, in 1989). This experiment can be considered as rejecting this hypothesis. However, it cannot be considered as a decisive experiment. New experiments are badly needed. We point out that a nonergodic model can be realistic, i.e. the distribution of hidden (local!) variables is well-defined. We also discuss coupling of violation of the Bell inequality with violation of the condition of weak mixing for ergodic dynamical systems.

This paper aims at reproducing quantum mechanical (QM) spin and spin entanglement results using a realist, stochastic, and local approach, without the standard QM mathematical formulation. The concrete model proposed includes the description of Stern–Gerlach apparatuses and of Bell test experiments. Single particle trajectories are explicitly evaluated as a function of a few stochastic variables that they assumedly carry on. QM predictions are retrieved as probability distributions of similarly-prepared ensembles of particles. Notably, it is shown that the proposed model, despite being both local and realist, is able to violate the Bell–CHSH inequalities by exploiting the coincidence loophole and thus intrinsically renouncing to one of the Bell’s assumptions.

We formally prove the existence of an enduring incongruence pervading a widespread interpretation of the Bell inequality and explain how to rationally avoid it with a natural assumption justified by explicit reference to a mathematical property of Bell’s probabilistic model. Although the amendment does not alter the relevance of the theorem regarding local realism, it brings back Bell theorem from the realm of philosophical discussions about counterfactual conditionals to the concrete experimental arena.

Structural realists, notably Waltz and Mearsheimer, have argued for the persistence of an anarchic international political system characterized by the absence of any centralized authority positioned above individual states. Mearsheimer has further suggested that a Sino-U.S. conflict is likely to occur in the future under conditions of anarchy. Based on the perspectives of classical realism, Chinese traditions, and relevant historical experience, we interrogate Mearsheimer’s contention, arguing that hierarchies can thrive under conditions of international anarchy. Thus, international anarchy does not endure in perpetuity.

Leading theorists of major schools of thought in international relations disagree over the root causes of the ongoing war in Ukraine. This paper examines the merits and bases of the theories or explanations provided by each major IR school. It explores the dominant arguments concerning the nature and trajectory of the ongoing war, the prospects for its resolution, and its strategic effects on the international system with a particular emphasis on China. We argue that scholars’ views on these topics are significantly influenced by their theoretical orientations within international relations. Furthermore, strategic thinkers and policymakers, identified as homines theoretici or feminae theoreticae, are themselves deeply influenced by their theoretical understandings of the world, which in turn shape their normative engagement with world affairs. However, the interplay between theoretical perspectives and practical realities hinges on the dynamics of power and objective material conditions on the ground.

This paper intends to explore Magical Realism in the Indian context through O. V. Vijayan’s novel, The Legends of Khasak, initially published in Malayalam in 1969; later in 1994, Vijayan himself translated it into English. This regional novel might not have fetched global recognition, but it remains one of the most influential magical realist texts in Malayalam literature. Intriguingly though, the novel was published just two years after García Márquez’s magnum opus, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and almost a decade and a half before Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Salman Rushdie’s commercial success in this genre popularized South Asian Magical Realism in the West. However, many regional writers from India had employed Magical Realism’s stylistic paradox in their works before the term officially originated in the European and Latin American contexts. Through Vijayan’s novel, this study explores how, in the Indian context, the paradoxical impulse to naturalize the supernatural deeply exists in realism’s stylistic undercurrents. The research further uses the critical framework of trauma and memory to analyze how the author attempts to recuperate the indigenous cultural identity of the natives, lost due to colonialism and capitalism, and simultaneously historicize the onset of colonial modernity and industrialization in India.

Whereas most scientists are highly critical of constructivism and relativism in the context of scientific knowledge acquisition, the dominant school of chemical education researchers appears to support a variety of such positions. By reference to the views of Herron, Spencer, and Bodner, I claim that these authors are philosophically confused, and that they are presenting a damaging and anti-scientific message to other unsuspecting educators. Part of the problem, as I argue, is a failure to distinguish between pedagogical constructivism regarding students' understanding of science, and constructivism about the way that scientific knowledge is acquired by expert scientists.

This chapter presents a brief overview of the volume and the chapters it includes. Although all the chapters fit into a common theme, there is much diversity of both topics and thinking styles. This introductory chapter gives a sense of that diversity.

Whether quanta exist or not is a complex question that engages with a variety of issues in the realism/anti-realism debate and concerning the interpretation of quantum mechanics, ranging from the kinds of commitments and requirements needed to determine the existence of quantum particles to the sorts of empirical and instrumental control of the relevant phenomena. In this paper, I argue that one need not settle the issue of the existence of quanta to determine their objectivity, that is, to settle whether they are what they are independently of what one takes them to be. The objectivity of quanta is a separate issue from those concerning their existence and metaphysical specification of the kind of thing quanta are. Along the way, I discuss the similarities and differences between mathematical objectivity and the objectivity of quanta, and consider the role that the framework in which quanta are formulated plays in addressing the issue of their objectivity. In the end, the objectivity of quanta and their existence are importantly different. One can hold on to the former while being agnostic about the latter.

Art in general perception is something that transcends our notion of reality. In view of the earliest findings in Paleolithic sites, their abstract appearance and sometimes ceremonial context increased their status of a secret language. Even the first figurative cave paintings remained in the context of an encoded semantic whole. The highly symbolic value of art seemed invulnerable. It was just the claim for mimesis in Greek antiquity (Plato) that urged artists to “realistically” depict what can be seen — as to stay in track of eternal messages behind. This devaluated the artistic oeuvre to a purely imitating craft and had to overcome at once several inherent obstacles. First, that reality (the phenomenal world) is in general only a pale reflection of what lays behind (Platonic ideas) and second, that the human eye, unlike the human mind, cannot penetrate to more than ephemeral impressions. Moreover, it mixed up reality with what we are able to see (i.e., visual perception), thus supposing a pinpoint representation of the world by our senses. Aristotle was the first to qualify art as picturing more than we usually are meant to see, filling the gap between the sensual and the spiritual world. Aristotelian aesthetics includes concepts of reduction and selection of composition and emotion, thus a summarized view within any performance of poetics or painting. And it took centuries to close the gap between natural and aesthetic perception or art. Life sciences in the 20th century discovered the evolutionary basis of sensory perception as being highly biased and organized, concept as emotion-driven and thus, mentally equipped as well. This sets a new approach in our understanding of perception, art, and aesthetics as an ongoing communication in process on common bases. Art may cooperate or disagree but never can cut the nexus with its perceptual prejudices and substrate.

The history of hydropolitics does not support the claim that the next war shall be about water. The chapter considers a set of variables, including scarcity, geography, relative power, domestic politics, and international water law, to explain the onset of conflict and initiation of cooperation over transboundary waters. Strategies and tactics for promoting cooperation, and eventually an agreement, between riparians are also discussed. After reading this chapter, you will understand that while political disputes over water do take place (and may become most volatile in otherwise unstable regions) they rarely become violent. You will be equipped with evidence showing that for the same reasons that conflict may arise over a shared-water body, cooperation may also come about. You will gain knowledge of several elements that facilitate both conflict and cooperation over transboundary waters. Finally, you will learn about different tactics used to facilitate cooperation and negotiation over transboundary waters, and understand that the intricacies of conflict and cooperation are of highest importance in otherwise precarious regions where a water dispute may aggravate the already tense political environment.

It is usually asserted that physical theories, in particular quantum mechanics, support a certain view of what the world really is. To such claims I oppose an attitude of epistemological modesty. Ontological statements on the nature of reality, when made on the basis of quantum mechanics, appear unwarranted. I suggest that an epistemic loop connects physical theory grounded in informational notions, and a theory of information developed through a theoretical account of the physical support of information.