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Why Middle-Sized Matters: Quantum Realism, Minds and the Problem of Macro-Objects (2024)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. M. (2024). Why Middle-Sized Matters: Quantum Realism, Minds and the Problem of Macro-Objects. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2877(1), Article 012121. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2877/1/012121

The Problem of Macro-Objects concerns how three-dimensional, middle-sized objects, such as scientists and their measuring devices, can exist in a quantum world. This paper discusses the problem for wave function realism and the primitive ontology app... Read More about Why Middle-Sized Matters: Quantum Realism, Minds and the Problem of Macro-Objects.

Cosmopsychism and the Laws of Physics: A Hylomorphic Perspective (2024)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. (2024). Cosmopsychism and the Laws of Physics: A Hylomorphic Perspective. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 31(9-10), 132-157. https://doi.org/10.53765/20512201.31.9.132

I outline a hylomorphic account of physical reality in which the cosmos as a whole has mental properties which explain its nomological order. According to this theory, the cosmos is directed in its temporal development toward certain ends or goals wh... Read More about Cosmopsychism and the Laws of Physics: A Hylomorphic Perspective.

The Entanglement Problem for Psychological Hylomorphism (2024)
Journal Article
Simpson, W., & Koons, R. (in press). The Entanglement Problem for Psychological Hylomorphism. Res Philosophica,

The theory of psychological hylomorphism has recently been advanced by David Charles as a viable alternative to physicalist and dualist theories of the mind. According to Charles, a human or animal is a psycho-physical whole whose mental and physical... Read More about The Entanglement Problem for Psychological Hylomorphism.

Whose Hylomorphism? Which Theory of Prime Matter? (2024)
Journal Article
Moško, M., & Simpson, W. M. R. (2024). Whose Hylomorphism? Which Theory of Prime Matter?. Ancient Philosophy Today: Dialogoi, 6(1), 65-91. https://doi.org/10.3366/anph.2024.0103

Medieval interpretations of hylomorphism, in which substances are conceived as metaphysical composites of prime matter and substantial form, are receiving attention in contemporary philosophy. It has even been suggested that a recovery of Aquinas's c... Read More about Whose Hylomorphism? Which Theory of Prime Matter?.

The Myth of the Physical Given (2022)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. (2022). The Myth of the Physical Given. Revue Philosophique de Louvain, 119(1), 151-164

Cosmic hylomorphism: A powerist ontology of quantum mechanics (2021)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. M. R. (2021). Cosmic hylomorphism: A powerist ontology of quantum mechanics. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 11(1), Article 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-020-00342-5

The primitive ontology approach to quantum mechanics seeks to account for quantum phenomena in terms of a distribution of matter in three-dimensional space (or four-dimensional spacetime) and a law of nature that describes its temporal development. T... Read More about Cosmic hylomorphism: A powerist ontology of quantum mechanics.

Ontological aspects of the Casimir Effect (2014)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. M. R. (2014). Ontological aspects of the Casimir Effect. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 48(Part A), 84-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2014.08.001

The role of the vacuum, in the Casimir Effect, is a matter of some dispute: the Casimir force has been variously described as a phenomenon resulting “from the alteration, by the boundaries, of the zero-point electromagnetic energy” (Bordag, Mohideen,... Read More about Ontological aspects of the Casimir Effect.

Casimir force in a compressive transformation medium (2013)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. M. R. (2013). Casimir force in a compressive transformation medium. Physical Review A, 88(6), Article 063852. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.88.063852

We consider an example of an idealized inhomogeneous metamaterial which, when introduced into a Casimir cavity, reduces the magnitude of the Casimir force. It has recently been argued, however, that Casimir-Lifshitz forces in inhomogeneous media are... Read More about Casimir force in a compressive transformation medium.

Cutoff dependence of the Casimir force within an inhomogeneous medium (2013)
Journal Article
Horsley, S. A. R., & Simpson, W. M. R. (2013). Cutoff dependence of the Casimir force within an inhomogeneous medium. Physical Review A, 88(1), Article 013833. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.88.013833

We consider the ground-state energy of the electromagnetic field in a piston geometry. In the idealized case, where the piston and the walls of the chamber are taken as perfect mirrors, the Casimir pressure on the piston is finite and independent of... Read More about Cutoff dependence of the Casimir force within an inhomogeneous medium.

Divergence of Casimir stress in inhomogeneous media (2013)
Journal Article
Simpson, W. M. R., Horsley, S. A. R., & Leonhardt, U. (2013). Divergence of Casimir stress in inhomogeneous media. Physical Review A, 87(4), Article 043806. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.87.043806

We examine the local behavior of the regularized stress tensor commonly used in calculations of the Casimir force for a dielectric medium inhomogeneous in one direction. It is shown that the usual expression for the stress tensor is not finite anywhe... Read More about Divergence of Casimir stress in inhomogeneous media.

Exact solution for the Casimir stress in a spherically symmetric medium (2011)
Journal Article
Leonhardt, U., & Simpson, W. M. R. (2011). Exact solution for the Casimir stress in a spherically symmetric medium. Physical Review D, 84(8), Article 081701(R). https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.84.081701

We calculated the stress of the quantum vacuum, the Casimir stress, in a spherically symmetric medium, Maxwell’s fish eye, surrounded by a perfect mirror and derived an exact analytic solution. Our solution questions the idea that the Casimir force o... Read More about Exact solution for the Casimir stress in a spherically symmetric medium.