CFP: Continental Philosophy Review: Phenomenology and Quantum Mechanics

Call for Papers

Special Issue: Continental Philosophy Review

“Phenomenology and Quantum Mechanics”

Deadline: April 1, 2020

7,000 words maximum; Chicago-style citations

For philosophers and physicists alike, the experimental results of quantum physics have forced a reimagining of the subjective constitution of objectivity and sense. Recently, a surprising number of phenomenologically inspired thinkers—including Patrick Heelan, Michel Bitbol, and Harald Wiltsche—have devoted attention to quantum physics in view of the problems it presents for knowledge of nature outside of the subjective mediations of instrumentation and observation. Indeed, the experimental observation of quantum phenomena, challenging as it does traditional conceptions of objectivity, measurement, and experiment, offers a fecund ground for phenomenological investigation. While traditional philosophers of science struggle to normalize the issues presented by quantum physics (e.g. nonlocality, superposition, indeterminacy) in terms of traditional realisms, these phenomenological thinkers see an irreducible need to engage the subjective conditions of possibility for the appearing of such phenomena.

We are interested in the possibilities of interpreting quantum physics from variety of phenomenological perspectives that engage the limitations and merits of scientific realism. We are committed to reinforcing the importance of critical, phenomenological engagements with contemporary physics, as opposed to the ‘naturalistic’ attitude that marks so many current philosophical engagements with that discipline. And most expressly, we are interested in the possibilities and limitations of interpreting quantum physics from phenomenological perspectives that engage the problems of realism and anti-realism. We ask, what does a robust phenomenological account of quantum physics look like?

Papers that address the following themes will be strongly considered:

·     The problem of quantum physics and the Husserlian lifeworld

·     Quantum mechanics through the perspective of Husserl, Heidegger, or Merleau-Ponty

·     Realist and anti-realist interpretations of quantum mechanics

·     Phenomenological perspectives on measurement and mediation in scientific observation

·     Quantum mechanics and transcendental/empirical subjectivity

We request submissions by April 1, 2020, anonymized for peer review. Please submit full papers to [email protected].