The conference goal is to bring together philosophers and physicists interested in the conceptual issues surrounding spacetime physics broadly construed, from classical mechanics to quantum gravity. The topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
– The ontology of spacetime from classical mechanics to general relativity and beyond.
– Recent theoretical developments in the field of quantum gravity.
– Approaches to quantization in shape space physics.
– Black hole physics and its philosophical implications.
– Historical aspects of the development of spacetime theories.
– General relativity and particle physics: unification perspectives.
– Causation in spacetime physics.
– The dark matter vs. modified gravity controversy.
– Metaphysical foundationalism vs. coherentism under the light of quantum gravity.
– Epistemological challenges in devising empirical tests for quantum-gravitational effects.
Invited Speakers
Tomasz Bigaj (University of Warsaw)
Carl Hoefer (University of Barcelona)
Tim Koslowski (University of Würzburg)
Vincent Lam (University of Bern)
Tomasz Placek (Jagiellonian University)
Christian Wüthrich (University of Geneva)
Scientific Committee
Silvia De Bianchi (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
Daniele Oriti (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)
Tomasz Placek (Jagiellonian University)
Karim Thébault (University of Bristol)
Antonio Vassallo (Warsaw University of Technology)
Date and Venue
3-4 September 2020
Warsaw University of Technology, Plac Politechniki 1, Warsaw
Main Building, room 206
The event is organized by the philosophy of physics group at the International Center of Formal Ontology in collaboration with the Center for Theoretical Physics (Polish Academy of Sciences), and is associated with the NCN funded research project “Self-Subsisting Structures in Quantum Gravity” (OPUS grant nr. 2019/33/B/HS1/01772).
Organizers
Antonio Vassallo (Warsaw University of Technology)
Bartłomiej Skowron (Warsaw University of Technology)
Marek Kuś (Warsaw University of Technology/Center for Theoretical Physics PAS)
Any inquiry can be addressed to antonio.vassallo@pw.edu.pl.