REMINDER: Lugano Philosophy Colloquia (Hybrid)
by events.isfi＠usi.ch
Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that on Thursday, May 21 at 5.00pm (CET), Giovanni Valente (Politecnico di Milano) will give the talk Approximations that matter: virtual particles as carriers of interactions as part of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia Spring 2026 organised by the Institute of Philosophy (ISFI) at USI.
This hybrid talk will take place in Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus) and online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining online, please write to events.isfi(a)usi.ch.
Here is the abstract of the talk: In this talk, based on joint work with Nicolò Cangiotti and Gianni Arioli, I will develop an indispensability argument in support of the existence of virtual particles in scattering processes. In order to avoid the Paradox of Infinite Limits, which allegedly poses a challenge to scientific realism, one needs to de-idealize the fictitious systems introduced by the two limiting procedures employed in the perturbation scheme, namely the infinite expansion in Dyson series and the limits for negative and positive infinite times associated with the assumption of free particles. I will show that these limits do not introduce essential idealizations, in agreement with scientific realism. What is more, according to our argument, unobservable virtual particles arise as essential approximations and they should be interpreted as propagators of the interaction responsible for subatomic scattering. As such, their existence is based on the use of approximations that matter.
For more information: https://www.ftl.usi.ch/it/feeds/15142
2 weeks, 6 days
Lugano Philosophy Colloquia (Hybrid)
by events.isfi＠usi.ch
Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that on Thursday, May 21 at 5.00pm (CET), Giovanni Valente (Politecnico di Milano) will give the talk Approximations that matter: virtual particles as carriers of interactions as part of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia Spring 2026 organised by the Institute of Philosophy (ISFI) at USI.
This hybrid talk will take place in Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus) and online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining online, please write to events.isfi(a)usi.ch.
Here is the abstract of the talk: In this talk, based on joint work with Nicolò Cangiotti and Gianni Arioli, I will develop an indispensability argument in support of the existence of virtual particles in scattering processes. In order to avoid the Paradox of Infinite Limits, which allegedly poses a challenge to scientific realism, one needs to de-idealize the fictitious systems introduced by the two limiting procedures employed in the perturbation scheme, namely the infinite expansion in Dyson series and the limits for negative and positive infinite times associated with the assumption of free particles. I will show that these limits do not introduce essential idealizations, in agreement with scientific realism. What is more, according to our argument, unobservable virtual particles arise as essential approximations and they should be interpreted as propagators of the interaction responsible for subatomic scattering. As such, their existence is based on the use of approximations that matter.
For more information: https://www.ftl.usi.ch/it/feeds/15142
3 weeks, 3 days
REMINDER: Lugano Philosophy Colloquia (Hybrid)
by events.isfi＠usi.ch
Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that on Monday, May 11 at 5.00pm (CET), Lorenzo Lorenzetti (Università della Svizzera italiana) will give the talk A Relational General Relativistic A-theory as part of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia Spring 2026 organised by the Institute of Philosophy (ISFI) at USI.
This hybrid talk will take place in Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus) and online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining online, please write to events.isfi(a)usi.ch.
Here is the abstract of the talk: It is often assumed that relativistic physics leaves no room for an A-theory of time. Special relativity seems to rule out a privileged present, while general relativity appears to undermine any physically meaningful notion of change, given diffeomorphism symmetry. We argue that this conclusion is premature. We develop a general-relativistic A-theory that avoids ad hoc privileged structure, whether local or global, and respects the symmetry structure of general relativity. Drawing on the framework of relational observables, we defend a gauge-invariant, frame-relative notion of change grounded in physical reference clocks rather than external time. We then argue that, when combined with suitably refined versions of Fine’s external relativism and fragmentalism, this yields a genuinely A-theoretic account of objective becoming. The result is a non-standard A-theory that preserves irreducible tense while remaining fully compatible with general relativity. (based on joint work with Nicola Bamonti).
For more information: https://www.ftl.usi.ch/it/feeds/15142
4 weeks, 1 day
Lugano Philosophy Colloquia (Hybrid)
by events.isfi＠usi.ch
Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that on Monday, May 11 at 5.00pm (CET), Lorenzo Lorenzetti (Università della Svizzera italiana) will give the talk A Relational General Relativistic A-theory as part of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia Spring 2026 organised by the Institute of Philosophy (ISFI) at USI.
This hybrid talk will take place in Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus) and online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining online, please write to events.isfi(a)usi.ch.
Here is the abstract of the talk: It is often assumed that relativistic physics leaves no room for an A-theory of time. Special relativity seems to rule out a privileged present, while general relativity appears to undermine any physically meaningful notion of change, given diffeomorphism symmetry. We argue that this conclusion is premature. We develop a general-relativistic A-theory that avoids ad hoc privileged structure, whether local or global, and respects the symmetry structure of general relativity. Drawing on the framework of relational observables, we defend a gauge-invariant, frame-relative notion of change grounded in physical reference clocks rather than external time. We then argue that, when combined with suitably refined versions of Fine’s external relativism and fragmentalism, this yields a genuinely A-theoretic account of objective becoming. The result is a non-standard A-theory that preserves irreducible tense while remaining fully compatible with general relativity. (based on joint work with Nicola Bamonti).
For more information: https://www.ftl.usi.ch/it/feeds/15142
1 month
REMINDER: Lugano Philosophy Colloquia (Hybrid)
by events.isfi＠usi.ch
We are pleased to announce that on Wednesday, May 6 at 5.00pm (CET), Damiano Costa (Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano-Università della Svizzera italiana) will give the talk The instant of change and metaphysical indeterminacy as part of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia Spring 2026 organised by the Institute of Philosophy (ISFI) at USI.
This hybrid talk will take place in Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus) and online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining online, please write to events.isfi(a)usi.ch.
Here is the abstract of the talk: In this paper, I apply Wilson’s account of metaphysical indeterminacy to explore an indeterminacy solution to the puzzle of the instant of change.
For more information: https://www.ftl.usi.ch/it/feeds/15142
1 month