Individuality, Distinguishability, and (Non-)Entanglement

Bonn, 15 – 17 March 2018

This International Workshop was organized as an event of the DFG project Individuality, Distinguishability, and Entanglement.
Here you can find the call for participation, the flyer with the program and some practical information, and the abstracts.

Topic
Regarding the ontology of quantum objects, there are two main views: either such objects violate Leibniz's Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles (PII), or the PII can be saved but only in an extremely weak sense. However, based on a careful distinction between pure permutation invariance and physical entanglement matters may be interpreted very differently; particularly, one might be able to save the PII in a strong sense. In light of this new twist, we will reconsider the historical background of the debate on the PII, its logical aspects (e.g. the `labeling problem'), and the pertinent metaphysical commitments.

Participants
Overall, 26 participants attended the workshop.

Venue
Internationales Zentrum für Philosophie, Poppelsdorfer Allee 28, 53115 Bonn

Organizers
Kian Salimkhani (University of Bonn)
Tina Wachter (University of Hannover)

Presentations

During the workshop, the following lectures have been given.

Tomasz Bigaj:
On the Physical and Metaphysical Roots of the Symmetrization Postulate

Jeremy Butterfield:
States, Quantities and Permutation Symmetries (joint work with Adam Caulton)

Adam Caulton:
How to Russell a Fermi-Dirac

James Ladyman:
Are Quantum Particles Individuals, Objects and/or Structures?

Andrea Lubberdink:
Particles and the World

F. A. Muller:
The Rise of Relationals*

Simon Saunders:
Three Questions About Permutation Symmetry