Preface

A cursory flick through the very few philosophy of physics textbooks that are currently available might give one the impression that philosophers are trailing rather far behind contemporary physicists in terms of the subject matter being investigated. On the other hand, browsing through the relevant journals Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, and Philosophy of Science will give one quite a different impression, with philosophers hot on the tails of some of the very latest developments in physics. In effect, the other textbooks misrepresent what modern philosophy of physics is like, and the range of problems the modern philosopher of physics is interested in. The student of philosophy of physics is liable to be in for quite a shock in trying to make the transition from the available introductory textbooks to this very much more advanced material. There are, it seems, no textbooks on the market that cater for the middle ground between absolute beginner and consummate professional. This book is intended to plug that gap, providing a way in to the contemporary debates as featured in the aforementioned journals and research monographs. In addition to this, in dealing with more contemporary portions of physics-such as quantum computation and quantum gravity-it attempts to mend the links between philosophy and physics so that physics and philosophy stand closer together, if not quite in perfect lockstep. Physics is a fast-moving and very exciting field of play: today there are various quasi-revolutions and other more profound revolutions in progress-e.g. complexity theory, quantum information theory, and quantum gravity. Students of philosophy of physics should be exposed to this early on in their training, and given the skills needed to make sense of it.