Abstract
According to a commonly held view, the properties of condensed-matter systems are simply consequences of the properties of their atomic-level components, and all of theoretical research in condensed-matter physics consists essentially in deducing the former from the latter. I argue that this apparently plausible picture is totally misleading, and that condensed-matter physics is a discipline which is not only autonomous, but guaranteed in the long run to be fundamental.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 221-233 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Foundations of Physics |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1992 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Philosophy
- General Physics and Astronomy
- History and Philosophy of Science