Pressing Charges: Spacetime, Gauge Symmetry, and Physical Equivalence

The goal of this symposium proposal is to bring together notable recent developments in the interpretation of charge, symmetry and spacetime, and to press towards a clearer philosophical account of charge in physics. Despite the enormous potential for a rich and fruitful interplay between the above themes, such work has not yet been undertaken in the philosophical literature. This proposal convenes the leading experts on these themes, who will present a series of four papers that will directly address the question of the relationship between spacetime functionalism, the representational significance of symmetry, and the interpretation of charges. We will also discuss the implications of our paper for the history of physics (especially early 20th century spacetime physics) and programs within contemporary theoretical physics, especially the application of spacetime models to condensed matter physics.