Why is the transference theory of causation insufficient? The challenge of the Aharonov-Bohm effect

Vincent Ardourel (1, 2) , Alexandre Guay (3)

1 IHPST - Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques
2 IHPST - Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques
3 UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain

The transference theory reduces causation to the transmission (or regular manifestation) of physical conserved quantities, like energy or momenta. Although this theory aims at applying to all fields of physics, we claim that it fails to account for a quantum electrodynamic effect , viz. the Aharonov-Bohm effect. After having argued that the Aharonov-Bohm effect is a genuine counterexample for the transfer-ence theory, we offer a new physicalist approach of causation, ontic and modal, in which this effect is embedded.

Domaines: Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences

Vincent Ardourel, Alexandre Guay. Why is the transference theory of causation insufficient? The challenge of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 2018, 63, pp.12-23. ⟨10.1016/j.shpsb.2017.09.009⟩. ⟨hal-01918271⟩