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Chinese Journal of Nature >

2021 , Vol. 43 >Issue 1: 71 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.01.010

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Philip W. Anderson: Representative of emergentism

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  • Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

Received date: 2020-09-12

  Online published: 2021-02-25

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Abstract

The life and achievement of theoretical physicist Philip W. Anderson are reviewed. The scientific works of Anderson were not only closely related to experiments, but also of profound generalities. He has made concrete contributions in many aspects of condensed matter physics, establishing the core notions or paradigms, especially symmetry breaking. He was the first person to use spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking to solve the mass problem of the gauge particle in Yang-Mills theory. His work on spin glass has impact on biology and computer science. Anderson was crucial in the rise of the emergentism, which emphasizes that the laws in the higher layers of nature are not simple applications of laws in the lower layers. I think reductionism and emergentism are two sides of a same coin, implying and complementary with each other. 

Key words：  ; emergentism, condensed matter physics, spontaneous symmetry breaking

Cite this article

SHI Yu . Philip W. Anderson: Representative of emergentism[J]. Chinese Journal of Nature, 2021 , 43(1) : 71 -80 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.01.010

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