Scientific principles have played a central role in physics. The principle of relativity, the equivalence principle, the gauge principle, and the correspondence principle, to name a few, form the basis of our best current theories of nature. On the other hand, the apparent failure of the naturalness principle has sparked a crisis about the future direction of particle physics. From a philosophical point of view, however, physical principles remain undertheorized. Can the much more elaborate philosophical debates about the nature of laws and symmetries also be transferred over to principles, or do principles raise novel metaphysical issues? What methodological role have principles played in the historical development of physics and what can be learnt for contemporary practice? The aim of this workshop is to bring together philosophers, historians and physicists to discuss these and related issues, and to try to initiate a debate about principles in physics.
The “Principles in Physics” workshop will take place March 27-29 2023 at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. If you are interested in contributing a talk, please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words by the January 31 2023. To submit an abstract, please go to https://indico.cern.ch/event/1213191/abstracts/ and follow the “submit new abstract” link. You will need to register a free indico account during the submission process. more info...
