This course introduces students to the foundations of physics with the goal of understanding both the theoretical framework and the philosophical problems connected with it. It presumes no previous training or background knowledge in physics or philosophy; students from all academic disciplines are more than welcome in this course. We will explore conceptual issues in natural philosophy and the philosophy of science, as well as topics in classical and modern physics, quantum mechanics, and both special and general relativity. Some of the questions we will address in this course are:
• What is the nature of motion?
• What is the nature of space and time? What is the meaning of relativity?
• Is time traveling possible?
• What is a physical field? What are particles?
• How to make sense of quantum mechanics?
• Is quantum mechanics complete, or are there better alternatives to it?
• What kind of things are laws of nature (such as Newton’s laws and the Schrödinger’s equation)? And are laws of physics true?
• What are the limits of physics? And where does philosophy begin?
To find possible answers to these questions, we will draw on both texts in physics and philosophy. Moreover, we will also consider thought experiments, such as Zeno’s paradoxes of motion, Newton’s cannonball, the Twin Paradox, Schrödinger’s cat, and the EPR paradox, to understand better the conceptual problems raised in these texts. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to present in class ideas and arguments related to the course topics to explore the relations between physics and philosophy further.
