2013/01/01 by Adam Caulton · 20 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Mathematical Theories and Applications #Appeal #Heterodoxy #History and advancements in chemistry #Identity (music) #Physicalism #Quantum #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Series (stratigraphy) #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/668874
published in Philosophy of Science 80(1), 49-72 (Cambridge University Press) · 27 pages. This is a pre-print of an article published in Philosophy of Science
openalex publication_date 2013/01/01 · arxiv created 2014/08/31 · arxiv updated 2014/09/02 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In a series of recent papers, Simon Saunders, Fred Muller, and Michael Seevinck have collectively argued, against the folklore, that some nontrivial version of Leibniz’s principle of the identity of indiscernibles is upheld in quantum mechanics. They argue that all particles—fermions, paraparticles, anyons, even bosons—may be weakly discerned by some physical relation. Here I show that their arguments make illegitimate appeal to nonsymmetric, that is, permutation-noninvariant, quantities and that therefore their conclusions do not go through. However, I show that alternative, symmetric quantities may be found to do the required work. I conclude that the Saunders-Muller-Seevinck heterodoxy can be saved.