180169 SE History and Philosophy of Quantum Logic (2021W)

Despite being a relatively active field for a good part of the last century, quantum logic has been recently characterized as a "dying area" of scientific research. The guiding idea of this advanced seminar is that, even if this is correct, there is much to learn from quantum logic, both historically and philosophically. The characterization seems, however, incorrect, for the non-classical logical rules for the behavior of particles and waves are arguably what quantum mechanics is really about.

Questions to be discussed in the seminar include the following: What motivates quantum logic? Can we read logic off from physical reality? Does quantum logic solve any quantum paradox? Is quantum logic really logic? Does it admit of a truth-functional semantics? What is its relation to classical logic? Is it a global replacement or a merely local alternative for the microworld? If the former, why does classical logic work so well in the macroworld?

Students who would like to register for this seminar should have already taken a logic course (ideally, also a seminar on the philosophy of logic) and should be relatively familiar with the philosophical problems of quantum mechanics. If either prerequisite has not yet been satisfied, students should be willing to make up for it before the start of the seminar. If need be, please contact me about this before you register.