Quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics
- Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013
- xiii, 293 p. ; 23 cm.
- Oxford philosophical monographs .
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
How is that when scientists need some piece of mathematics through which to frame their theory, it is there to hand? What has been called 'the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics' sets a challenge for philosophers. Some have responded to that challenge by arguing that mathematics is essentially anthropocentric in character, whereas others have pointed to the range of structures that mathematics offers. Otávio Bueno and Steven French offer a middle way, which focuses on the moves that have to be made in both the mathematics and the relevant physics in order to bring the two into appropriate relation.