underdeterminationetc.dvi


Quantum Field Theory: Underdetermination,
Inconsistency, and Idealization

Doreen Fraser
Department of Philosophy
University of Waterloo
200 University Ave. W.

Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1
dlfraser@uwaterloo.ca

ABSTRACT:Quantumfield theory (QFT)presentsagenuineexampleof theunderdetermination
of theory by empirical evidence. There are variants of QFT which are empirically indistinguish-
able yet support different interpretations. This case is of particular interest to philosophers of
physics because, before the philosophical work of interpreting QFT can proceed, the question of
which variant should be subject to interpretation must be settled. At one end of the spectrum of
variants of QFT is the version which is found in introductory textbooks and employed by most
working physicists; this is the variant of QFT which introduces renormalization procedures to
facilitate the calculation of scattering matrix elements. At the other end of the spectrum are
axiomatic presentations of QFT, which are rigorous but remote from practical applications. New
arguments are offered for basing the interpretation of QFT on a rigorous axiomatic variant of
the theory. The pivotal considerations are the roles that consistency and idealization play in this
case.

KEYWORDS: quantum field theory, algebraic quantum field theory, Lagrangian quantum field
theory, underdetermination, inconsistency, idealization

1 Introduction

Quantum field theory (QFT) is an example of a mature field within a mature science in which
there are parallel research programs. Different communities of researchers (including experimen-
talists, theoreticians, and applied mathematicians) employ different variants of QFT. At one
end of the spectrum of variants of QFT is the version of the theory which is found in the first
part of most introductory textbooks and employed by most working physicists, viz. the version
of QFT which introduces renormalization procedures to facilitate the calculation of scattering
matrix elements. At the other end of the spectrum are axiomatic presentations of QFT, such as
the Haag-Kastler algebraic formulation and the Wightman axiomatization, which are rigorous
but remote from practical applications. There is no consensus on how philosophers should deal
with this multitude of QFTs. Before the philosophical work of interpreting quantum field theory
(QFT) can begin, a question must be addressed: which variant of QFT should be subject to in-
terpretation? Arguments have been made in favour of interpreting variants of QFT on both ends
of the spectrum. Teller treats the standard textbook variant of QFT in his book An Interpretive
Introduction to Quantum Field Theory; Wallace’s article “In defence of naiveté: The conceptual
status of Lagrangian quantum field theory” is devoted to defending the use of textbook QFT
for foundational purposes; and, most recently, MacKinnon has advanced arguments in favour of

1



the same approach in this journal (MacKinnon 2008). In contrast, the recent work of Ruetsche,
Earman, Halvorson, Clifton, and others examines the algebraic formulation of QFT.
This debate is an instance of a more general conflict of desiderata of philosophers of science,

a conflict that seems particularly endemic to philosophy of physics. On the one hand, it is
desirable to stick as close to actual scientific practice as possible. This means that philosophers
should focus attention on the versions of theories that practicing scientists actually use and, in
particular, how theories get applied. However, these theories are often messy. A theme of the
work of Batterman and Cartwright (among others) is that the messy context of application is
important for foundational and interpretive questions. A second desideratum of philosophers of
science is to clarify the foundations of theories and to provide interpretations of theories, where
necessary. These goals are often more easily achieved by focusing on cleaner versions of theories
which are farther removed from actual applications. For instance, ‘toy’ models—models which
represent idealized situations—have been used to investigate many foundational and interpretive
questions.
The choice between these two desiderata is particularly stark in the QFT case because the

desiderata are best fulfilled not by different aspects of a single theoretical framework, but by
different theoretical frameworks. The textbook variant of QFT has a range of applications and its
predictions have been borne out to an impressive degree of accuracy, but it is not mathematically
rigorous. In contrast, rigorous axiomatizations of QFT have been proposed, but to date no
physically realistic models of any set of axioms has been found. More specifically, there is no
known model for any interaction in four spacetime dimensions.1 The arguments that have been
offered for focusing on a particular variant of QFT track the general debate. For instance, Teller
explains that he does not discuss “formal and rigorous work in axiomatic field theory” in his
book because “[a]lthough [axiomatic field theory] is a useful enterprise in the study of formal
properties of quantum field theories, axiomatic quantum field theory as it exists today does not
appear usefully to describe real physical phenomena” (Teller 1995, p. 146, fn. 22). In his survey
article on the philosophical significance of algebraic QFT, Halvorson concedes that the algebraic
approach is “indeed idiosyncratic in the sense of demographics,” but argues that philosophers
of physics should study algebraic QFT because “[t]here remains an implicit working assumption
among many philosophers that studying the foundations of a theory requires that the theory have
a mathematical description” and, moreover, “whether or not having a mathematical description
is mandatory, having such a description greatly facilitates our ability to draw inferences securely
and efficiently” (Halvorson and Müger 2007).
I contend that an interpretation of QFT should be based on a rigorous axiomatic variant

of QFT rather than any of the other variants. I will argue that there is more to recommend a
rigorous variant of QFT than ease of interpretation and transparency of the foundations of the
theory. A fortiori, the choice among formulations of QFT does not come down to a subjective
preference for a certain methodology in philosophy of science. The content of QFT is the point
at issue.

1Recently, a method has been developed which can be used to construct models with non-trivial scattering
matrix elements in any number of spacetime dimensions, but these models are not physically realistic insofar
as the S-matrix breaks Lorentz symmetry (Buchholz and Summers 2008). A model takes the form of a set
of wedge-localized operators which commute at spacelike distances, transform covariantly under the underlying
representation of the Poincare group, and admit a scattering theory (Buchholz and Summers 2008, p. 1).

2



2 Set up: Three variants of QFT, Empirical Indistin-

guishability, and Underdetermination

To set up the discussion, I will categorize the variants of QFT on the basis of the types of
renormalization procedures that are invoked. In the course of the discussion, it will become
clear why this is a natural categorization. This set of distinctions will also help to clarify the
foundational significance of renormalization.
For the sake of concreteness, consider the admittedly physically unrealistic case of a (φ4)2

interaction (i.e., an interaction represented by a Lagrangian with a scalar φ4 self-interaction
term on two-dimensional spacetime). A φ4 interaction is the simplest non-trivial, physically
meaningful interaction because a quadratic self-interaction term represents a free system and a
cubic self-interaction term is not physically meaningful because even the classical wave equation
has energy that is unbounded from below and has singular solutions2 (Jaffe 1999, p. 133; Keller
1957). The restriction to two spacetime dimensions allows the ultraviolet divergences to be
completely removed by normal-ordering (Glimm and Jaffe 1968, p. 175). The Hamiltonian for
the (φ4)2 interaction is defined as follows (Glimm and Jaffe 1968, p. 1945):

H = HF + λ

Z
: φ4(x,t0) : dx (1)

where : : denotes normal-ordering. In classic introductory textbook presentations of QFT (e.g.,
Schweber (1961)), this Hamiltonian acts on the Hilbert space of the interaction picture repre-
sentation.3 For the moment, the only relevant feature of the interaction picture representation
is that, by assumption, there is some time t0 at which the Hilbert space representation for the
interaction coincides with the Fock space F associated with a neutral scalar field of the same
mass. (For further details, see Schweber (1961, pp. 316-325) or Fraser (2006, §2.1).) In particu-
lar, at time t0, the vacuum state for the interacting system coincides with the vacuum state for
the associated free system, Ω0. At time t0, applying the full interaction Hamiltonian H to the
vacuum state Ω0 yields the following well-known result:

HΩ0 = ∞ (2)

From a theoretical point of view, this result is problematic because the vacuum state is supposed
to be invariant under the time translation operator e−iHt. From a practical point of view, this is
problematic because the formula for calculating scattering matrix elements involves applying H
to Ω0, and the scattering matrix elements encode the experimental predictions. (Naturally, this
traditional introductory textbook presentation lacks the sophistication of the modern approach
to renormalization (i.e., renormalization group methods); however, the modern refinements do
not affect the arguments of this paper. See Section 6 below.)
The variants of QFT adopt different solutions to this problem. In the classic textbook presen-

tation of QFT, this result is interpreted as a sign that the vacuum self-energy must be renormal-
ized. That is, the infinite vacuum self-energy counterterm E0 is introduced to make the lowest

2Though recently this conventional widsom has been challenged by advocates of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.
See, for example, Bender (2007).

3The interaction picture representation is also known as the Dirac picture representation.

3



eigenvalue of the renormalized interaction Hamiltonian zero:

(H −E0)Ω0 = 0 (3)

Hren = HF + λ

Z
: φ4(x,t0) : dx−E0 (4)

(As a result of the restriction to two spacetime dimensions, the vacuum self-energy E0 is the
only renormalization counterterm that is infinite in this case (Glimm and Jaffe 1970a, p. 205)).
The classic textbook approach is to accept the infinite counterterm E0 and to introduce the
Hamiltonian Hren. I will refer to the resulting formulation of QFT as the infinitely renormalized
variant of QFT.
There are two other ways of responding to the result that application of the (φ4)2-interaction

Hamiltonian H to the vacuum Ω0 yields infinity. One is to introduce a spatial cutoff function
into the Hamiltonian which “cuts off” long-distance contributions:

H(g) = HF + λ

Z
: φ4(x,t0) : g(x)dx−E00 (5)

g(x) = 1 in some finite region R and g(x) = 0 outside of R

The introduction of the long-distance spatial cutoff function renders the vacuum self-energy
counterterm E00 finite. This is the cutoff variant of QFT. In general (i.e., for interaction terms in
general), short-distance cutoffs will also be needed. (Long-distance cutoffs alone are sufficient for
the (φ4)2 interaction because the ultraviolet divergences are rendered finite by normal-ordering.)

4

The third variant of QFT—the formal variant—responds by taking a more formal approach. In
the context of formal, rigorous mathematics, the fact that applying the interaction Hamiltonian
H to the interaction picture vacuum Ω0 yields infinity is an indication that the vector Ω0 is
not in the domain of H (see, for example, Glimm and Jaffe (1970a, p. 363)). Furthermore, it
turns out that the only vector in F that is in the domain of H is the zero vector (Glimm 1969).
From this more formal point of view, the proper response is thus to find another Hilbert space
on which to represent the interaction Hamiltonian (i.e., a Hilbert space representation of the
canonical commutation relations that is unitarily inequivalent to F). For the (φ4)2 interaction
this has been achieved: Glimm and Jaffe’s (φ4)2 model supplies a Hamiltonian operator for the
interaction without an infinite counterterm that is well-defined on a Hilbert space representation
of the canonical commutation relations that is unitarily inequivalent to F at all times. The
Glimm-Jaffe (φ4)2 model satisfies all of the Wightman and the Haag-Kastler axioms (Glimm,
Jaffe, and Spencer 1974; Glimm and Jaffe 1970a; Cannon and Jaffe 1970; Glimm and Jaffe
1970b, p. 208). This formal approach to QFT has been pursued by the mathematical physicists
and mathematicians named in this paragraph. One strategy for pursuing this approach is the
formulation of axioms for QFT. The complementary strategy is the construction of models for
particular interactions, which can then be checked for their compatibility with different sets of
axioms.
The infinitely renormalized, cutoff, and formalvariantsofQFTareall alternative formulations

of the same theory. This raises the question: How should these variants of QFT be regarded?

4An alternative to introducing a long-distance spatial cutoff function is compactifying space. This is also
known as “quantization in a box with periodic boundary conditions” (Glimm and Jaffe 1971, p. 5).

4



This is an important question for the purposes of interpretation, as mentioned above, but also
for foundational purposes (e.g., for determining which variant should inform the development of
future theories, perhaps including quantum gravity). There is an obvious line of response to the
question: perhaps this matter can be settled empirically. Perhaps only one variant of QFT is
empirically adequate. However, it turns out that this is not the case. The three variants are
empirically indistinguishable. In QFT, the quantities which are subject to experimental test
are scattering matrix elements. Scattering matrix elements encode the outcomes of scattering
experiments. The three variants of QFT are empirically indistinguishable in the sense that the
sets of scattering matrix elements generated by the three variants can be brought into arbitrar-
ily close agreement. Consider the infinitely renormalized and cutoff variants. In the limit as
the cutoffs are removed, the scattering matrix elements of the cutoff formulation approach the
scattering matrix elements of the infinitely renormalized formulation. (See Fraser (2006, §3.3.2)
for details). Thus, the sets of scattering matrix elements generated by these two variants can be
brought into arbitrarily close agreement by choosing large (or small) enough cutoff functions.5 It
has been verified that the sets of scattering matrix elements yielded by the rigorous Glimm-Jaffe
(φ4)2 model also agree with those yielded by the infinitely renormalized variant, modulo the fact
that in the infinitely renormalized framework scattering matrix elements can only be calculated
approximately to some order in a perturbative expansion (Jaffe 1999, p. 140; Wightman 1986,
p. 213). Since a model for a given interaction is required to calculate the scattering matrix
elements for that interaction, one might worry that models that are constructed in the future
will reveal disagreements between the predictions of the formal variant and those of the other
variants. However, this worry is addressed by the process of model construction: one of the
means of establishing that a constructed model is a model for a particular interaction is to verify
that the scattering matrix elements calculated using the model agree with those calculated using
other variants (Glimm 1969, p. 103). In general, then, one would expect agreement between the
scattering matrix elements generated by the formal variant and the other variants.
Since experimental tests cannot settle the matter, one might wonder whether these three

variants of QFT are genuinely distinct. Perhaps, for example, they are merely notational vari-
ants. However, it is clear that proponents of these approaches to QFT believe that they differ
significantly. As Wightman described the situation in a 1962 lecture, “[t]he root-mean-square
deviation from the mean of opinion on what is a sensible thing to try to do in elementary par-
ticle theory seems to be one of those unrenormalizable infinities one hears about” (Wightman
1963, p. 11). From the perspective of philosophy rather than sociology, there is also reason to
regard the variants as genuinely distinct: they yield different metaphysical interpretations. The
infinitely renormalized and cutoff representations for the (φ4)2 interaction are genuinely distinct
from the Glimm-Jaffe representation because they support different ontologies. For instance,
they disagree about whether QFT describes quanta. (“Quanta” are entities that resemble classi-
cal particles insofar as they are countable and possess the same energies as classical, relativistic,
non-interacting particles.) The complete argument for this claim that the variants of QFT dis-
agree about whether QFT describes quanta is a paper in itself (see Fraser (2008)), but it can be

5In this analysis, the cutoff is not interpreted realistically. If the cutoff is interpreted realistically, then its
value cannot be changed arbitrarily and the limiting procedure is illegitimate. However, as discussed in Section
4 below, nobody seems to actually hold the view that QFT dictates that space must be discrete and the universe
spatially finite.

5



sketched in a few paragraphs.
Consider the cutoff and Glimm-Jaffe representations. The cutoff representation for an in-

teraction admits an interpretation in terms of quanta, but the Glimm-Jaffe representation does
not admit a quanta interpretation. In QFT, the quanta interpretation is derived from the Fock
space representation for a system. A Fock space representation for a free system has a basis of
state vectors—the n-particle state vectors—each of which can be interpreted as representing a state
in which a definite number of quanta is present. In a cutoff representation for an interacting
system, this quanta interpretation can be extended from free systems to interacting systems.
Since the number of degrees of freedom is finite,6 the Stone-von Neumann theorem applies and
all standard representations7 of the ETCCR’s are unitarily equivalent. In particular, the rep-
resentation for the interacting system is unitarily equivalent to the Fock representation for the
corresponding free system. Therefore, any state vector describing the interacting system can be
written in terms of the n-particle states for the corresponding free system. Thus, in the cutoff
representation, the interacting system can also be given a quanta interpretation. In contrast, the
Glimm-Jaffe representation does not admit a quanta representation. The Fock representation for
the corresponding free system is not unitarily equivalent to the Glimm-Jaffe representation for
the interacting system. (See Fraser (2008) for the argument.) Thus it is not possible to extend
the quanta interpretation from the free system to the interacting system, and there are no other
candidates for quanta states. As a result, the cutoff and the Glimm-Jaffe representations disagree
about the existence of quanta.
It is less clear how to interpret the infinitely renormalized variant. The difficulties are a direct

result of lack of mathematical rigor. The argument can be made that the infinitely renormal-
ized representation can be given a quanta interpretation. By assumption, there is some time
t0 at which the Hilbert space representation for the interaction coincides with the Fock space
F for the corresponding free system. Also by assumption, time evolution is unitary; therefore,
the Hilbert space representation for the interacting system is unitarily equivalent to F at all
times. That is, the state vector for the interacting system is always in Fock space, so it is always
possible to write it in terms of the n-particle states for the free system. Thus, it seems that, in
the context of the infinitely renormalized variant, the interacting system can be given a quanta
interpretation. However, infinite renormalization complicates matters. The key assumption that
time evolution is unitary is undermined by infinite renormalization: the renormalized Hamilto-
nian for the interaction Hren is not a well-defined self-adjoint operator on the Hilbert space for
the interacting system because it contains an infinite term; consequently, the time translation
operator exp(−iHrent) is not unitary.8 Deciding which interpretation the infinitely renormalized
variant actually supports will require a judgment about which principles this variant actually
includes. The standard criticism leveled against unrigorous theories—that they are difficult to
analyze and interpret—certainly applies in this case.
The disagreement on matters of metaphysics among the three variants of QFT can also be

made out in more general terms. The variants disagree about what is possible. According to the
cutoff variant, it is possible for the interacting system to be in the same state as any other system,

6At least in the typical cases in which both long and short distance cutoffs are introduced.
7i.e., All irreducible representations of the Weyl form of the equal time canonical commutation relations.
8Another possibility is that, according to the infinitely renormalized variant, there is an informal sense in

which the state of the interacting system ‘remains in’ the Fock representation for the free system even though,
formally, the two representations are not unitarily equivalent.

6



governed by any dynamics. The infinitely renormalized variant incorporates the assumption
that it is possible for the interacting system to be in the same state as a free system. (Indeed,
scattering theory in the interaction picture works on the basis of the assumption that the free and
interacting systems are actually in the same state at t = ±∞.) This disagreement is the upshot
of their respective assumptions about unitary equivalence. In contrast, according to the formal
variant, it is not possible for the interacting system to be in the same state as a system governed
by any other dynamics. In addition, Baker (2009) argues that the considerations which rule out a
quanta interpretationof the formalvariantalso ruleoutanaturalfield interpretationof the formal
variant. Thus, the disagreement between the variants is not limited to the existence of quanta.
Even if we decide that QFT does not describe quanta we can expect that the representations
will still disagree on matters of metaphysics. Other respects in which the interpretations differ
are discussed below.
The three variants are empirically indistinguishable yet carry different metaphysical impli-

cations. In other words, this is a genuine case of the classic problem of underdetermination of
theory by all possible evidence. To emphasize, this is not a contrived example of underdetermi-
nation, but a real case of underdetermination that actually arises in a mature physical theory.
This addresses a criticism leveled by skeptics about underdetermination: that the only exam-
ples of the phenomenon are ‘toy theories’ invented by philosophers. However, the anti-realist
should not be too quick to celebrate. I contend that this case of underdetermination does not
provide support for scientific anti-realism because there are good arguments for paying heed to
the metaphysical implications of one variant of QFT and disregarding the others.

3 Inconsistency

The starting point for resolving the question of which variant of QFT to adopt is a better
understanding of the point of departure for the variant formulations of QFT. What went wrong
with the construction of the interaction picture9? Theorists adopted a set of seemingly plausible
principles for a relativistic quantum theory but ended up with nonsensical results (i.e., a vacuum
state with infinite energy and infinite probabilities for the outcomes of scattering experiments).
Historically, this is precisely the difficulty that Feynman et. al. had to overcome in order to
formulate QED. Renormalization methods were the remedy, but they do not directly address the
question of what went wrong in the first place.
Haag’s theorem provides some insight into what went wrong with the interaction picture.

Haag’s theorem can be viewed as a ‘no go’ theorem for the interaction picture. The theorem
establishes that if a theory adopts the specified set of assumptions {T}, then the theory neces-
sarily describes a free system. The interaction picture goes wrong by adopting the complete set
of assumptions {T}. The set {T} contains the following assumptions:10

The interacting system and the corresponding free system are each described by a

9Here and in the following discussion “interaction picture” denotes the pre-renormalization representation of
the system adopted in the introductory textbook approach to QFT.
10There are several versions of Haag’s theorem. The following discussion is based on the version of the theorem

presented in Hall and Wightman (1957) for the special case in which one of the fields is a free field. For further
details see Earman and Fraser (2006) and Fraser (2006).

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neutral scalar11 field φj, j = 1,2, and a conjugate momentum field πj such that

(i) Each pair (φj,πj) gives an irreducible representation of the equal time CCR
(ETCCR)

[φj(x, t),πj(x
0, t)] = iδ(x−x0) j = 1,2 (6)

[φj(x, t),φj(x
0, t)] = [ πj(x, t),πj(x

0, t)] = 0.

(ii) Poincaré transformations (a,Λ) (where a stands for a spacetime translation and Λ
stands for a Lorentz transformation) are induced by unitary transformations Uj(a,Λ).

(iii) The fields transform under Uj(a,Λ) as follows:

Uj(a,Λ)φj(x,t)U
−1
j (a,Λ) = φj(Λx+a,t) (7)

Uj(a,Λ)πj(x,t)U
−1
j (a,Λ) = πj(Λx+a,t)

(iv) There exist unique normalizable states |0ji invariant under Poincaré transforma-
tions (i.e., vacuum states):12

Uj(a,Λ)|0ji = |0ji (8)

(v) The fields are related at some time t by a unitary transformation V :

φ2(x, t) = V φ1(x, t)V
−1, π2(x, t) = V π1(x, t)V

−1 (9)

(vi) No states of negative energy exist.

These assumptions are, taken individually, each plausible. However, Haag’s theorem establishes
that, when combined, this package of assumptions has the unwanted consequence that the field
that was intended to describe an interacting system actually describes a free system. More
specifically, what is proven is that all of the vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the two fields
are equal:

h02|φ2(x1)...φ2(xn)|02i = h01|φ1(x1)...φ1(xn)|01i for all n (10)
This means that the ‘interacting’ representation makes exactly the same predictions as the repre-
sentation for the free system. The set of all VEVs for a field contains the set of all its scattering
matrix elements. Thus, the representation that was intended to describe an interacting system
actually describes a system with trivial scattering matrix elements (i.e., the scattering matrix
is the identity); that is, the representation actually describes a free system in which the initial
state is identical to the final state. Assurance that theories that share a complete set of VEVs
share the same dynamics in the sense of having the same Hamiltonian is provided by Wightman’s
reconstruction theorem (Streater and Wightman 2000, pp. 117-126).

11The case of neutral scalar fields is treated for notational convenience. Haag’s theorem also holds in the more
general case of fields with spin indices (Streater and Wightman 2000, p. 166). The commutation relations below
are then CCR’s or CAR’s, as dictated by the Spin-Statistics Theorem.
12Actually, this is stronger than necessary. The weaker assumptions that suffice are that there exist unique

normalizable states |0ji which are invariant under Euclidean transformations and that these states |0ji are also
invariant under Poincaré transformations.

8



Put in slightly different terms, Haag’s theorem demonstrates that the interaction picture
adopts an inconsistent set of principles. Inconsistency is a straightforward consequence of the
theorem. Let F be the statement that the system described is free. By Haag’s theorem, {T} =⇒
F. But, the interaction picture was introduced for the purpose of treating interacting systems;
thus, by assumption, the system described by the interaction picture is not free. This sets
up a reductio ad absurdum: {T}&qF =⇒ F&qF. Thus, Haag’s theorem informs us that the
source of the problem with the interaction picture is that it is inconsistent. Furthermore, Haag’s
theorem establishes that this is an entirely generic problem; the theorem does not hinge on any
assumptions about the specific form taken by the interaction.13

The three variants of QFT espouse different responses to the reductio of the interaction pic-
ture. The infinitely renormalized variant modifies the principles of the interaction picture by
inserting infinite renormalization counterterms into the Hamiltonian. The practical consequence
is that the scattering matrix elements become nontrivial and finite; the theoretical consequence
is that Haag’s theorem is inapplicable to the interaction picture after the renormalization proce-
dures have been carried out. Strictly speaking, the assumptions of Haag’s theorem no longer hold.
For example, the renormalized interaction Hamiltonian Hren = HF + λ

R
: φ4(x,t0) : dx−E0

is not a formally well-defined self-adjoint operator14 in virtue of the infinity of E0. By Stone’s
theorem, since Hren is not self-adjoint, the operator e

−iHrent is not unitary. Thus, time trans-
lations are represented by operators that are not unitary, contrary to assumption (ii) of Haag’s
theorem. Put another way, infinite renormalization introduces informal mathematical reason-
ing in the form of infinite subtractions and informally defined mathematical expressions. Hall
and Wightman’s proof of Haag’s theorem relies on heavy machinery from advanced mathemat-
ics (e.g., the theory of analytic functions). The infinitely renormalized variant of QFT dodges
Haag’s theorem by shifting to the context of informal, unrigorous mathematics, in which these
techniques of formal, rigorous mathematics are inapplicable.
The cutoff variant of QFT responds to the reductio of the interaction picture by Haag’s the-

orem by denying one of the common assumptions of the interaction picture and Haag’s theorem:
that the fields transform appropriately under Poincaré transformations (assumption (iii) above).
The Hamiltonian H(g) with the spatial cutoff function g(x) (g(x) = 1 in region R and g(x) = 0
outside of R) is associated with the ‘cutoff’ field equation¡

¤+m20
¢
φg(x)+4gλ0φ

3
g(x) = 0 (11)

The ‘cutoff field’ φg(x) that satisfies this field equation is clearly not invariant under spatial
translations:15

e−iP·xφg(x,t)e
iP·x 6= φg(x+x0, t) (12)

for x such that g(x) = 1, x0 such that g(x0) = 0

13Though interaction terms which take particular forms will violate some of the assumptions of Haag’s theorem.
For an example see the discussion below of Hamiltonians incorporating cutoff functions.
14On the Hilbert space F, the Fock space for the corresponding free system. As noted above, strictly speaking,

the domain of Hren on F contains only the zero vector (Glimm and Jaffe 1970b, p. 363).
15Introduction of a short distance cutoff function would also be sufficient to violate spatial translation invariance

and thus would render the version of Haag’s theorem presented above inapplicable. However, there are other
versions of Haag’s theorem (e.g., the Streit-Emch version) which are applicable in the presence of short distance
spatial cutoffs (i.e., to lattices) (See Emch (1972, pp. 247-253), Fraser (2006, pp. 63-64)).

9



In general, the cutoff variant of QFT introduces both long- and short-distance spatial cutoff
functions, which serve to reduce the theory from an infinite number of degrees of freedom to a
finite number. Haag’s theorem is only applicable in the presence of an infinite number of degrees
of freedom. The cutoff variant also invalidates assumption (iv) of Haag’s theorem, that there
exists a unique normalizable state |0ij (i.e., the vacuum state) that is invariant under Poincaré
transformations. For a finite number of degrees of freedom the assumption of uniqueness fails.
(See Fraser (2006, Section 1.2.2) for further discussion.) Naturally, when the time comes to
evaluate the cutoff variant of QFT, the physical motivations for rejecting these assumptions will
be a central issue.
The formal variant of QFT also confronts the inconsistency of the interaction picture by

seeking to modify or reject at least one of the assumptions of the interaction picture. The
rigorous Glimm-Jaffe model for the (φ4)2 interaction rejects assumption (v), that the fields are
related at some time t by a unitary transformation V . This is the natural assumption to reject
because, unlike the other assumptions, it does not have a strong physical motivation. While
it seems reasonable to guess that the representation for the interaction will coincide with the
representation for the corresponding free system in the limit of infinitely early and late times,
when the interaction is negligible, this is not an essential feature of a relativistic quantum theory.
Historically, the motivation for introducing this assumption was not foundational, but practical;
it made it possible to extract predictions from QFT via renormalization. From a mathematical
perspective, the assumption of unitary equivalence of the free and interacting representations is
dubious. In the context of ordinary non-relativistic quantum mechanics with a finite number
of degrees of freedom, the Stone-von Neumann theorem guarantees that all representations of
the ETCCRs are unitarily equivalent. However, the Stone-von Neumann theorem fails in QFT
due to the infinite number of degrees of freedom; in fact, there exist uncountably many unitarily
inequivalent representations of the ETCCRs (G̊arding and Wightman 1954).

4 QFT = SR+QT

With a view towards evaluating them, these three variants of QFT can be characterized as pro-
viding either a principled response to the inconsistency of the interaction picture or a pragmatic
response. The formal variant is a clear example of the principled response: the inconsistency
of the interaction picture must be addressed by fixing the principles of the interaction picture
because the inconsistency of the principles reflects a problem with the foundations of the theory.
In contrast, the infinitely renormalized variant is a clear example of the pragmatic response: the
expedient of introducing infinite renormalization is adequate as a means of getting around the
problem of inconsistency because it allows predictions to be derived from the theory. (Which
category the cutoff variant falls into depends on how the cutoffs are justified, as discussed below.)
The principled approach is to cure the disease; the pragmatic approach is to treat the symptoms.
For scientific theories in general, it is not clear that the principled strategy of revising the

principles of the theory to make it consistent is always preferable. The argument has been made
that, even for mature scientific theories, it can be appropriate to retain an inconsistent theory
and to merely treat the symptoms.16 However, in the case of QFT, there is a compelling reason to

16For example, see daCosta and French (2002), among other contributions to Meheus (2002).

10



demand a consistent formulation of the theory. Quantum field theory is by definition the theory
that best unifies quantum theory (QT) and the special theory of relativity (SR).17 Historically, it
was clear by the mid-1920’s, when physicists had obtained non-relativistic quantum mechanics,
that physicists should work on formulating a relativistic version of quantum theory.18 Since
QFT = QT+SR, theprojectof formulatingquantumfield theorycannotbeconsideredsuccessful
until either a consistent theory that incorporates both relativistic and quantum principles has
been obtained or a convincing argument has been made that such a theory is not possible.
The big foundational question lying in the background is, of course, whether the principles of
quantum theory and special relativity are consistent. I do not presume that this question has a
positive answer. However, I do maintain that the project of developing QFT cannot be considered
complete until this central foundational question has been answered. The pragmatic response
to the inconsistency of the interaction picture is inadequate because it leaves the question of
whether QFT is possible unanswered. To put the point provocatively, it is not clear that any
variant of QFT that adopts a pragmatic response to the infinities is a theory that satisfies the
definition of QFT. Either a principled response or a demonstration that a principled response is
not possible is required.
The infinitely renormalized variant of QFT is unsatisfactory because it neither furnishes a

manifestly consistent set of principles for relativistic quantum theory nor provides a reason to
believe that a consistent relativistic quantum theory is impossible. On the latter score, the
inconsistency of the interaction picture does not constitute evidence that it is not possible to
consistently formulate a relativistic quantumtheory because we have no reason to believe that the
interaction picture is the only possible way to realize such a theory. For example, the formal vari-
ant furnishes examples of alternatives (e.g., the Wighman axiomatization and the Haag-Kastler
axiomatization). With respect to the former point, after infinite renormalization procedures have
been carried out, the resources of formal, rigorous mathematics cannot be brought to bear to
test the consistency of the theory. Consequently, it would be difficult to determine whether the
infinitely renormalized variant of QFT is consistent. Note that these criticisms have nothing to
do with the efficacy of infinite renormalization procedures for the purpose of deriving predictions.
To the best of my knowledge, no set of contradictory predictions has been derived in the more
than fifty year history of applications of the theory. I grant that it is extremely unlikely that
physicists will ever unearth a contradiction.19 However, this fact should not be taken as evidence
in favor of the consistency of the theory. It is possible that physicists are just reasoning very
carefully from an inconsistent set of theoretical principles. That is, they may be employing infer-
ential restrictions. Many historical examples of this phenomenon have been brought to light by

17Two qualifications of this definition. (1) This is intended to be a definition of relativistic quantum field theory
(Galilean QFTs, for example, are excluded). (2) It is not obvious a priori that the theory that best unifies SR
and QT must be a field theory; I take it that non-field theories (e.g., S-matrix theory) will be ruled out either on
the grounds of not providing the best unification or on the grounds of being failed programs.
18In fact, it was already clear before non-relativistic quantum mechanics had been worked out: Schrödinger

experimented with a relativistic wave equation en route to his wave mechanics and the earliest version of the
Klein-Gordon equation was published in 1925 (Schweber 1994, p. 57; Mehra and Rechenberg 2001, p. 445; Kragh
1990, pp. 49-50).
19Huggett (2002) offers an argument based on renormalization group theory that S-matrix elements follow as

deductive consequences from the interaction picture framework. Note that renormalization group methods do
not solve the problem with the interaction picture that is brought to light by Haag’s theorem; however, they may
fall into the category of inferential restrictions.

11



historians and philosophers of science, including the old quantum theory and Newtonian gravity
(see Meheus (2002)).
In contrast, the formal variant of QFT offers a satisfactory line of response to the reductio of

the interaction picture because the response is principled. The goal of the formal variant is to
find a consistent reformulation of the principles of the interaction picture. Again, the consistency
of quantum and relativistic principles is desired, but not presupposed. Ultimately, the success
of this project will hinge on whether there exist realistic models of the resultant axioms. (I will
return to this issue in Section 5).
The short argument that the cutoff variant is unsatisfactory is that it does not satisfy the

definition of QFT. Setting aside the principled-pragmatic distinction, the cutoff variant cannot,
strictly speaking, be considered a relativistic theory because the fields are not Poincaré covariant.
The longargument that thecutoff variant isunsatisfactoryappeals to theprincipled-pragmatic

distinction. Whether the cutoff variant of QFT falls into the category of a principled or a prag-
matic response to the reductio depends on how the cutoffs are interpreted. If the cutoffs are
regarded as a convenient device that is employed for the purpose of facilitating the derivation
of predictions, then the cutoff variant offers a pragmatic response to the inconsistency of the
interaction picture. However, the cutoff variant also contains the resources for a principled re-
sponse. As explained above, the cutoff variant rejects common assumptions of the interaction
picture and Haag’s theorem; consequently, the principles of the cutoff variant are consistent. In
general, consistency is achieved by reducing the theory to a finite number of degrees of freedom
by defining the fields on a spatial lattice of finite extent. However, to provide a genuine prin-
cipled response to the inconsistency of the interaction picture, the cutoffs must be regarded as
essential elements of the theory and not merely dispensable add-ons to facilitate calculation. On
the latter, instrumental view, the content (i.e., core theoretical principles) of the cutoff variant
of QFT is identical to that of the infinitely renormalized variant; it is merely the approach to
renormalization as a tool for deriving predictions that differs.20 The way in which the cutoffs
are viewed will have repercussions for their interpretation. If the cutoffs are taken seriously,
then they must be interpreted realistically; that is, space is really discrete and of finite extent
according to the cutoff variant of QFT.21 Thus, the cutoffs must take particular fixed values
(though these may not be presently known). If the cutoffs are not taken seriously, then they may
be interpreted instrumentally; that is, space is really continuous and of infinite extent according
to the cutoff variant of QFT. This is compatible with assigning the cutoffs arbitrary values. The
upshot is that the cutoff variant of QFT can only be regarded as a candidate formulation of
relativistic quantum theory if it makes sense to regard space as a lattice of finite extent.
Can a case be made for interpreting the cutoffs realistically? If QFT were true, would space

be discrete and finite in extent? It is telling that—to the best of my knowledge—nobody defends
the position that QFT provides evidence that space is discrete and the universe is finite. Of
course, proponents of some quantum theories of gravity have claimed that space is discrete.
However, even if these claims are borne out, the fact that quantum gravity indicates that space
is discrete would not help settle the question of how to interpret the cutoff variant of QFT

20Wallace (2006) endorses a different version of the cutoff variant; this position is discussed in Section 6.
21An apparent alternative for taking the cutoffs seriously is to regard space as continuous and of infinite extent

and QFT as breaking down at small and large distance scales. Since I take an interpretation of QFT to involve
providing a description of a possible world in which QFT is true (see Section 6), I regard this apparent alternative
as being equivalent to regarding space as discrete and finite in extent.

12



because gravitational considerations are external to QFT. The point at issue is whether QFT
dictates that space is necessarily discrete and finite in extent; that is, whether the discreteness
and finitude of space is a foundational principle of QFT.
One reason that a realistic interpretation of the cutoffs is not compelling is illuminated by

considering, once again, the cutoffs as a response to the reductio of the interaction picture. As
a response to the reductio, the introduction of the assumption that space is discrete and the
universe is finite seems ad hoc. It does circumvent Haag’s theorem and produces a consistent set
of principles for QFT, but it does not have an independent motivation. In contrast, arguments
from quantum gravity that space is discrete are supported by deep theoretical considerations
about how gravity is to be quantized. Arguments from cosmology that the universe is spatially
finite are based on a combination of theory and a variety of experimental results. The desire for
a consistent formulation of QFT is not sufficient to justify the introduction of the assumption
that space is discrete and the universe is finite because there is another strategy for obtaining
a consistent formulation of QFT: the strategy of modifying other principles of the interaction
picture, which is adopted by the formal variant. If we had good reason to believe that this
strategy will fail, then perhaps we would have good reason to interpret the cutoffs realistically.
However, even in that case, it would remain an option to concede that it is not possible to
formulate a consistent relativistic quantum theory. (This issue will be taken up in Section
5.) In sum, the cutoff variant of QFT is unsatisfactory because the cutoffs are not interpreted
realistically and when the cutoffs are interpreted instrumentally the cutoff variant is subject to
the same criticisms as the infinitely renormalized variant.
The formal variant is the only one of the three variants to provide an adequate response to

the reductio of the interaction picture. Viewed in these terms, the choice among the variants
of QFT is not (merely) a matter of picking the variant that is easiest to subject to analysis
and interpretation; the choice is a matter of determining the content of QFT. Each of the three
variants of QFT adopts a different set of theoretical principles. In this sense, each of the three
variants prescribes a different foundation for QFT. Since the content of the theory is what is at
stake, it is not surprising that the matter is settled by foundational considerations rather than
purely interpretive considerations. The formal variant is not singled out because it supports a
particular ontology or even because the other candidates succumb to interpretive difficulties, but
because QFT should be a relativistic quantum field theory (if such a thing is possible) and it is
the only variant that satisfies this condition. In some respects, the situation in QFT parallels
the situation in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. In non-relativistic quantum mechanics,
alternative, physically distinct formulations of the theory (e.g., Bohmian mechanics) were also
sought out in response to foundational problems with the standard formulation of the theory.
The significant point of contrast is, of course, that the consistency of relativistic and quantum
principles is a different kind of foundational problem than the measurement problem.
As an aside, the foregoing considerations about consistency may also pose a difficulty for the

interpretation of infinitely renormalized QFT. A consistent set of theoretical principles may all be
true simultaneously; an inconsistent set is certainly not.22 If a theory contains an inconsistent set

22Unless, that is, one agrees with Priest (2002) that contradictions do occur in nature. Briefly, my response
is that we would need to be driven to this by compelling considerations, and I am arguing that QFT does not
supply them.
da Costa and French (2002) also argue that it is appropriate to regard inconsistent theories as true, but as

partially true rather than wholly true, a notion that they explicate using model theory. This approach does not

13



of theoretical principles, some members of the set must be false. A metaphysical interpretation
of a theory should be based on the true theoretical principles, but not the false ones. The need to
identify the true principles complicates the project of interpreting an inconsistent theory. This
must be borne in mind when interpreting the infinitely renormalized variant of QFT because it
is not known whether this variant is consistent.

5 But we possess no realistic models of any set of rigorous

axioms for QFT!

The position that I have been advocating—that the formal variant of QFT should be treated
as the official formulation of QFT—seems counterintuitive in an important respect: it is not
clear that any of the proposed sets of rigorous, consistent principles for QFT holds for any
realistic system! To date, no rigorous model for a realistic interaction has been obtained—for any
axiomatization of QFT. This is why I have been referring to the Glimm-Jaffe model for the (φ4)2
interaction. David Wallace worries that “pending the discovery of a realistic interacting [model
for an axiomatization of QFT]...we have only limited reason to trust that our results apply to
the actual world” (Wallace 2006, p. 34). This is a reasonable concern; if the formal variant of
QFT is to be viable, it must be addressed.
This concern can be alleviated by recognizing that the formal variant of QFT is best viewed as

aprogramwhichhas yet tobecompleted. Thisaxiomaticprogramcannotbeconsideredcomplete
until models of a rigorous set of axioms are found for realistic interactions. The starting point for
the program is the interaction picture and the reductio of the interaction picture underwritten
by Haag’s theorem. As Haag himself recognized in Haag (1955), the paper which contains the
first presentation of the eponymous theorem, the first step was to reject the assumption of the
interaction picture that there is a time at which the representation for the interacting system is
unitarily equivalent to the representation for the free system.23 That this was the first step was
confirmed by the first success of the program: the construction of the rigorous model for the (φ4)2
interaction by Glimm and Jaffe in the early 1970’s. This model satisfies all of the assumptions
of the Hall-Wightman version of Haag’s theorem with the sole exception of the assumption that
there is a time at which the representation is unitarily equivalent to the Fock representation for
a free system. However, even before the (φ4)2 model had been obtained, it was clear that further
refinements to the interaction picture would be necessary to obtain a consistent set of principles
applicable to realistic interactions. Recall that Haag’s theorem pertains only to the divergence
in vacuum self-energy, which can be treated by introducing a long-distance cutoff. For realistic
interactions, there are other types of divergences (e.g., ultraviolet divergences, which are treated
using short-distance cutoffs). It would be very useful if it were possible to prove a sequence of
Haag-type no-go theorems: e.g., a (Haag)2 theorem which establishes that a certain set of the
principles embraced by the interaction picture imply that the system under consideration is a
free system when the dimension of spacetime is greater than two. Such a sequence of theorems

undermine my argument because we would still be left with the problem of how to determine which parts of the
theory are true. In their terms, I am arguing that the formal variant is to be preferred because it may be wholly
true, while the infinitely renormalized variant may only be partially true.
23In the abstract, he writes “[i]t is shown that . . . Dyson’s matrix U(t1, t2) for finite t1 or t2 cannot exist”

(Haag 1955, p. 1).

14



might give an indication of which assumptions of the interaction picture would need to be revised
or abandoned to treat particular interactions.
By the early 1960’s, Wightman had proposed one set of axioms for QFT (Wightman 1959)

and Haag and Kastler had proposed another set of axioms (Haag and Kastler 1964). These
axiom systems were conjectures about how the principles of the interaction picture would need
to be refined in order to consistently accommodate realistic interactions. The provisional nature
of these proposed axiomatizations was recognized from the outset. In one of the first textbook
presentations of the formal approach to QFT, Jost coined the term “general field theory” because
he did not like the connotations of the term “axiomatic” (Jost 1965, p. xi). Haag gives the
following explanation of why he also prefers to employ Jost’s terminology:

...the word “axiom” suggests something fixed, unchangeable. This is certainly not
intended here. Indeed, some of the assumptions are rather technical and should
be replaced by more natural ones as deeper insight is gained. We are concerned
with a developing area of physics which is far from closed and should keep an open
mind for modifications of the assumptions, additional structural principles as well as
information singling out a specific theory within a general frame. (Haag 1996, p. 58)

For the axiomatic program to achieve completion, realistic models of some set of principles
for relativistic quantum theory must be found. The construction of realistic models for either
(or both) the Wightman or Haag-Kastler axioms24—or any other set of axioms that has been
proposed, for that matter—would complete the program, but this is not the only way in which
the program could be completed. It is also possible that the sets of principles proposed by
Wightman and Haag-Kastler must be further refined before they admit realistic models. For
example, Bender (2007) advocates dropping the requirement that the that the Hamiltonian be
Hermitian and Rivasseau (2007) makes a case for adopting non-commutative spacetime.
This approach to the formal variant gains further plausibility when QFT is viewed in its

proper historical context. QFT is hardly unusual in requiring refinements over a period of
time. There are many cases in which an inconsistent formulation of a theory was replaced by a
consistent one in the course of its historical development. There is also historical precedent for an
informally formulated theory later being given a formal reformulation. Arguably, the evolution
of Newtonian mechanics from Newton’s Principia to its modern-day textbook formulation is an
example of this.
From this perspective, the fact that no rigorous model for a realistic interaction has been

constructed is not an argument for disregarding the formal variant of QFT. In fact, precisely
the opposite is the case: the Wightman and Haag-Kastler axiomatizations improve upon the
interaction picture by refining its axioms. The rigorous models for idealized interactions which
havebeenconstructed—interactionswhichexhibit tamer instancesof the sametypesofdivergences
that plague realistic interactions—provide evidence that the refinements that have been made are
on the right track. In contrast, the infinitely renormalized and cutoff variants of QFT do not
institute appropriate refinements of the principles of the interaction picture, as I’ve argued. The
fact that no rigorous model for a realistic interaction has been obtained is not an argument

24Streater (1988) rehearses the considerations that suggest that QED in four dimensions and QCD cannot be
fit into the framework of the Wightman axioms. He remarks that “[i]t should be possible to fit QCD into the
framework of the Haag-Kastler algebraic axiomatization” (p. 147).

15



against the formal variants and for the alternatives, but this fact should not be overlooked by
philosophers studying the foundations and interpretation of QFT. The provisional nature of
the proposed axiomatizations of QFT carries the implication that foundational and interpretive
conclusions based on these axiomatizations are also provisional.
What if the formal variant of QFT is a program which it is not possible to complete? That

is, what if it turns out not to be possible to find a consistent set of relativistic and quantum
principles that are applicable to realistic interacting systems? This is a hypothetical question
because mathematical physicists are still working towards constructing models for realistic inter-
actions. The results that have been obtained so far do not give any reason to believe that this
an unattainable goal. However, it is interesting to speculate on what the failure of the program
to formulate an applicable yet consistent relativistic quantum theory would mean. One inter-
pretation of the result is that relativistic and quantum principles are inconsistent. This seems
to be what Streater and Wightman had in mind when they wrote in the introduction to their
text book PCT, Spin, and Statistics, and All That that “the Main Problem of quantum field
theory turned out to be to kill it or cure it: either to show that the idealizations involved in the
fundamental notions of the theory (relativistic invariance, quantum mechanics, local fields, etc.)
are incompatible in some physical sense, or to recast the theory in such a form that it provides a
practical language for the description of elementary particle dynamics” (Streater and Wightman
2000, p. 1). Another way of interpreting the failure of the formal program would be as a victory
for the cutoff variant: as discussed in Section 4, failure to obtain a consistent set of principles on
infinite, continuous space could be cited as a justification for treating space as finite and discrete.
A third alternative is that the no-go result for the formal program could be ambiguous.25 The
requirement is that relativistic quantum theory include recognizably relativistic principles and
recognizably quantum principles; however, there is a certain amount of latitude in deciding what
counts as a relativistic principle and what counts as a quantum principle. In any case, it is worth
pursuing the formal program because either success or failure would be a significant result for
the foundations and interpretation of QFT.

6 In Defence of Sophistication

I have been arguing against basing the interpretation of QFT on the cutoff variant of the theory.
In a paper entitled “In defence of naiveté: The conceptual status of Lagrangian quantum field
theory,” DavidWallace defends thecutoff variantofQFT. By “interpretation” I meantheactivity
of giving an answer to the following hypothetical question: “if QFT were true, what would reality
be like?” In contrast, the interpretive question that Wallace focuses on is “given that QFT is
approximately true, what is reality (approximately) like?” The fact that QFT does not furnish a
true description of the actual world makes this a substantial point of disagreement. QFT marries
special relativity and quantum theory, but does not incorporate general relativity. Following Cao

25Perhaps the Coleman-Mandula result is an example of this. Supersymmetric theories were introduced in
response to the Coleman-Mandula ‘no go’ theorem for QFT’s in four spacetime dimensions (Coleman and Man-
dula 1967). Supersymmetric theories generalize the framework of QFT by allowing the algebra of generators of
symmetries to contain both communtation and anticommutation relations (Wess and Bagger 1992, p. 4). The
resultant algebra is not a Lie algebra, but a pseudo-Lie algebra (also known as a superalgebra or a graded Lie
algebra) (Haag, Lopuszański, and Sohnius 1975, pp. 257-8; Wess and Bagger 1992, p. 2).

16



(1997), Wallace frames the debate in terms of which one of two attitudes should be adopted to
the foundational status of QFT:26

(i) “The current situation is genuinely unsatisfactory: we should reject the cutoff
theories ....27, and continue to look for nontrivial theories defined at all lengthscales,”
or

(ii) “QFT’s as a whole are to be regarded as only approximate descriptions of some
as-yet-unkown deeper theory [theory X], which gives a mathematically self-contained
description of the short-distance physics” (p. 45)

Wallace elaborates that

the difference between [(i)] and [(ii)] is that the former rejects current QFT in toto,
and looks for mathematically rigorous versions of our current QFTs: QED, λφ4, the
Standard Model, etc. By contrast [(ii)] accepts that these current theories are indeed
best understood in terms of Lagrangian QFT, and looks for a deeper-level theory in
which Lagrangian QFT as a whole can be grounded. (p. 45)

In order to resolve the “attendant foundational problem” with option (ii)—that is, the problem
of how we can “give a clean conceptual description of a theory which can be rigorously defined
only as the low-energy limit of another theory which we do not yet have”28 (p. 46)—Wallace
adopts what I have been calling the cutoff variant of QFT. A a short-distance cutoff which is
much shorter than the length scales at which QFT is applied and tested is imposed.
Recall that in Section 4 I argued that the cutoff variant is unsatisfactory because it offers

only a pragmatic response to the reductio of textbook QFT. These arguments are not straight-
forwardly applicable to Wallace’s position because the above arguments are predicated on the
assumption that interpreting QFT involves describing what reality would be like if QFT were
true. In accordance with attitude (ii), Wallace instead regards QFT as providing an approxi-
mate description of the actual world at suitably large distance scales. As he puts it, “[s]uccess
in [algebraic QFT, string theory, or another theory-of-everything candidate] ... would, of course,
revolutionise physics, but that success would scarcely change the current status of Lagrangian
QFT: as an inherently approximate, but nonetheless extraordinarily powerful tool to analyse the
deep structure of the world” (Wallace 2006, p. 75).This stance allows Wallace to argue that there
is a principled physical justification for introducing the cutoffs without necessarily being forced
to defend the view that space is discrete and finite in our world. Wallace lists three alternatives
which each provide a “physical justification.. . for imposing a cutoff in relativistic QFT” (p. 43).

26Following Cao (1997), Wallace lists as a third option “the picture of ‘an infinite tower of effective field
theories’,” but Wallace does not discuss this possibility.
27He adds “as not mathematically well-defined,” but—as Wallace himself goes on to argue—the (finitely renor-

malized) cutoff variant does not suffer from this problem; only the (infinitely renormalized) variant without cutoffs
is not mathematically well-defined.
28Indeed, Wallace summarizes the aim of his paper as follows: “[t]his paper is an investigation of whether

Lagrangian QFT is sufficiently well-defined conceptually and mathematically that it too can be subject to foun-
dational analysis” (p. 2). It should be clear that I agree that the cutoff variant—Lagrangian QFT with cutoffs—is
sufficiently well-defined that its foundations could be analyzed; however, I maintain that the cutoff variant should
not be subject to foundational analysis.

17



Two of these possible physical justifications involve the physics imposing an effective cutoff for
QFT without space being discrete. For example, it is possible that the field-theoretic description
breaks down at a very high energy scale and is replaced by a different kind of theory (e.g., string
theory) (p. 44). Wallace’s attempted defence of the cutoff variant is not successful. My first line
of objection is that, even if it were granted that QFT should be regarded as an approximate guide
to the ontology of relatively large distance scales, it does not follow that the cutoff variant of
QFT succeeds in describing large-scale ontology. I take issue with the premise that the content
and interpretation of the cutoff variant is approximately equivalent to that of algebraic QFT
(the leading strain of the formal variant of QFT). The more important line of objection is the
second one: that QFT should not be regarded as merely an approximate guide to the ontology
of relatively large distance scales. Wallace’s insistence that we respect the fact that QFT is not
our final theory actually supports the pursuit of the formal variant of QFT.
An underlying assumption of Wallace’s argument is that there is approximate agreement on

matters of ontology between the cutoff variant of QFT and algebraic QFT (an instance of what
I have been calling the formal variant). This assumption is incorrect. As Wallace represents
matters,

... we can see that Lagrangian QFT (as I have defended it) is not really in conflict
with A[lgebraic] QFT at all. Success in the A[lgebraic] QFT program would leave
us with a field theory exactly defined on all scales, and such a theory would be a
perfectly valid choice for ‘theory X’: furthermore, even if we found such an exact
QFT it would not prevent us from defining low-energy, ‘effective’ QFTs—which would
not be well defined without a cutoff... (p. 41; see also p. 35 and p. 75).

One of the main conclusions of the foregoing sections is that the variants of QFT differ with
respect to both content and matters of interpretation. Changing the subject from precise agree-
ment to approximate agreement does not affect matters. Wallace contends that cutoff QFT
approximately satisfies the axioms of QFT.29 For example, the axioms of Poincaré covariance
and local commutativity are strictly false, but approximately satisfied over large distance scales
(Wallace 2006, p. 50). However, the cutoff variant does not have even approximately the same
content as algebraic QFT because the cutoff variant has a finite number of degrees of freedom
and therefore does not admit unitarily inequivalent representations; in contrast, algebraic QFT
has an infinite number of degrees of freedom and therefore admits unitarily inequivalent repre-
sentations.30 Spontaneous symmetry breaking is one case in which these unitarily inequivalent
representations are put to use (see Earman (2004) for an exposition and preliminary analysis
of this case). Cutoff and algebraic QFT admit different interpretations for the same reason. A
theory according to which quanta exist is not approximately equivalent to a theory according to
which quanta do not exist. The flaw in Wallace’s reasoning is that the fact that we do not care
about what QFT tells us about short distance scales does not license chopping short distance

29Note, however, Wallace’s important qualification that “[o]bviously, this is not intended to be precise” (p. 49)
Note also that, at this point, the discussion shifts from cutoff Lagrangian QFTs to algebraic QFTs with cutoffs.
The relevant comparison is between cutoff Lagrangian QFTs and algebraic QFTs without cutoffs.
30Wallace advances an alternative interpretation of free bosonic cutoff QFT, according to which particles are

emergent entitites (Wallace 2001). “Particles” in Wallace’s sense differ from “quanta” in my sense in that Wallace’s
“particles” satisfy a locality condition.

18



scales out of the theory. Cutting off the theory at some short distance scale has the effect of
changing the content of the theory as a whole, including its description of long-distance scales.
The difference in physical content is also reflected in the fact that the variants include different
sets of theoretical principles. A consequence of these differences in content is that the theories
support different ontologies.
Wallace does address the issue of unitarily inequivalent representations. He summarizes his

argument as follows:

From a realist perspective the sting of the representation ambiguity has largely been
drawn. Locally, any representation ambiguity is artificial, caused by the presence of
unphysical degrees of freedom beyond the high-energy limit of the theory’s validity.
Globally, there may indeed be representation ambiguities — depending on cosmology,
and the topology of the universe — but the inaccessible information which they encode
is ‘respectable’, analogous to the classical inaccessibility of the long-distance structure
of the universe. (p. 58)

In the present context, this argument is not compelling because the issue of whether the “degrees
of freedom beyond the high-energy limit of the theory’s validity” need to be taken into account
is precisely the point of contention.
A source of motivation for Wallace’s position is the thought that renormalization group

methods provide a warrant for subjecting the cutoff variant of QFT to interpretation. As Wallace
points out, renormalization group methods establish that the imposition of a short distance
cutoff “has no practical consequences” for the predictions of the theory (p. 44). However, this
contingent fact about some QFTs is not by itself sufficient warrant for the conclusion that the
cutoff variant should be subject to interpretation. Renormalization group methods establish
that the predictions of the cutoff variant are in approximate agreement with the predictions
of the infinitely renormalized variant but they do not furnish any evidence about approximate
agreement of either the theoretical principles or the interpretations supported by the cutoff and
infinitely renormalized variants. A fortiori, renormalization group methods have no bearing on
whether or not there is approximate agreement between either the theoretical principles or the
interpretations of the cutoff and algebraic variants of QFT. This brings the discussion back to
underdetermination.31

There is a more fundamental difficulty with Wallace’s position. Wallace contends that the
correct attitude to adopt towards QFT is to accept that our “current theories [i.e., the Standard
Model, QED, etc.] are indeed best understood in terms of Lagrangian QFT, and looks for a
deeper-level theory in which Lagrangian QFT as a whole can be grounded” (p. 45). The problem
with this approach is that it gets things the wrong way around. QFT, as the predecessor theory, is
valuable for the hints that it gives about the content of the successor theory, theory X. Theory X
is the theory that furnishes an adequate description of short-distance physics and, thus, includes
quantum gravity. But, as the name indicates, theory X is an as-yet-undiscovered theory. How
are we to determine the content of theory X? One of the starting points for formulating theory

31There is certainly more to be said here. This topic will be taken up in a paper to be published with the
proceedings of the April 2009 University of Western Ontario Philosophy of Quantum Field Theory Workshop.

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X is QFT.32 Wallace commits himself to the following brand of scientific realism (at least with
respect to Lagrangian QFT): Lagrangian QFT is “an inherently approximate, but nonetheless
extraordinarily powerful tool to analyse the deep structure of the world” (Wallace 2006, p. 75).
If (Lagrangian) QFT is to play this role, then theory change from QFT to theory X must involve
approximate continuity at the theoretical level and not merely approximate continuity at the
empirical level. This makes the theoretical content of QFT particularly relevant for finding
theory X. As I have stressed, the content of QFT is precisely what is at issue in the choice among
variants of QFT. How the disagreements about the appropriate theoretical principles for QFT
get settled is germane to the development of theory X. Resting content with Lagrangian QFT
is thus a poor strategy for finding theory X; the better strategy is to continue to work on these
questions about the content of QFT.
This is an entirely general point about theoretical change that does not hinge on the details of

theory X. Of course, until we actually find theory X and can determine the respects in which there
is approximate continuity between theory X and QFT, we have no way of knowing how helpful
it would have been to work out the details of QFT. The fact remains that—given our limited
knowledge at the present time—continuing to pursue the development of QFT is a good strategy.
However, one can hypothesize about how pursuing the axiomatic program might illuminate the
content of theory X. Entering into the realm of pure speculation, here are some examples. As
Wallace himself points out, the fact that the cutoff variant is approximately (but not exactly)
Poincaré covariant is of little help for finding theory X; approximate Poincaré covariance at
large distance scales does not provide any indication about whether theory X is covariant or not
(“understood as, say, the absence of a preferred spacetime foliation”) (pp. 51-52). In contrast,
either a formal variant of QFT which contains exact Poincaré covariance as a principle or the
knowledge that it is not possible to consistently combine Poincaré covariance with other field-
theoretic principles (e.g., knowledge that the axiomatic QFT program fails) would be useful for
finding theory X. If the debate were to be settled in favour of the cutoff variant with realistically
construed cutoffs, this might lend support to approaches to quantum gravity according to which
space is discrete. More fundamentally, if it were to turn out that even special relativity and
quantum theory are incompatible (if, say, the axiomatic program proves to be incompletable),
then the strategy for combining general relativity and quantum theory could be affected. More
generally, it is conceivable that the quest for a rigorous model of a realistic model will uncover a
more general mathematical framework which could prove more suitable for formulating quantum
gravity. (For hints in this direction see Bender (2007) and Rivasseau (2007)) I concede that these
examples are pure speculation. I hope that this does not deflect attention from the argument
that settling questions about the theoretical content of QFT might aid the search for theory
X. Resting content with the cutoff variant of QFT because it is empirically adequate at large
distance scales would be a strategic mistake because it would hinder the search for theory X.

32Of course, there is disagreement among theorists working on rival programs for quantum gravity about the
extent to which QFT should be used as a starting point. However, theory X is a theory of everything, including
non-gravitational forces; therefore, QFTs such as QED are relevant starting points.

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7 Conclusion

This paper has explored the implications of a genuine case of underdetermination in contem-
porary physics. The infinitely renormalized, cutoff, and formal variants of QFT are empirically
equivalent in the sense that they are empirically indistinguishable on the basis of past and future
scattering experiments. The three variants differ with respect to physical content; each variant
adopts a different set of theoretical principles. The three variants also admit different inter-
pretations. For example, the cutoff variant supports a quanta ontology but the formal variant
does not. I argued that the proper moral to draw from this case is not anti-realism, but that
empirical considerations narrowly construed are not the only grounds on which to choose among
rival theories. In this case, consistency is also a relevant criterion because quantum field theory
is, by definition, the theory which integrates quantum theory and the special theory of relativ-
ity. Consistency is relevant to QFT for theoretical reasons—not for practical reasons (e.g., the
derivation of predictions). As a result, it is necessary to either formulate a consistent theory or
else show that this criterion cannot be satisfied (i.e., that there is no consistent theory with both
quantum and special relativistic principles). The infinitely renormalized variant fails to satisfy
this criterion because its theoretical principles are not manifestly consistent. The cutoff variant
fails to satisfy the criterion because, while its theoretical principles are consistent, they are not
well-motivated. The formal variant is the only variant that satisfies the criterion; its set of theo-
retical principles are both consistent and well-motivated. Neither the infinitely renormalized nor
cutoff variant furnishes an argument that a consistent formulation of QFT is impossible; such an
argument would require making the case that the axiomatic program cannot be completed.
This covers the terms “underdetermination” and “inconsistency” in the title. Idealization also

plays an interesting role in this case. The standard criticism of the formal variant of QFT—that
it has yet to be established that any set of rigorous axioms applies to the real world because no
realistic models have been constructed—can be construed as a complaint that the formal variant
of QFT is an idealization. In response to this criticism, I have argued that—if it does turn out that
none of the sets of axioms that have been proposed admit realistic models—then the proposed
axiomatizations could be modified. Thus, if it does turn out that the proposed axiomatizations
are idealizations in this sense, the idealization is in principle dispensable; the idealization could
be removed by appropriate modification of the axioms (modulo the possibility that there is no
set of relativistic plus quantum axioms that admits realistic models).
The cutoff variant is an idealization in another sense: when the theoretical principles of

the cutoff variant are interpreted literally, the cutoff variant describes a world in which space
is discrete and of finite extent; this is an idealization in the sense that the possible worlds in
which QFT is true are presumed to be worlds in which space is continuous and infinite. This
idealization is indispensable insofar as it is not possible to remove the cutoffs entirely. (Removing
the cutoffs by taking infinite limits would turn the cutoff variant into the infinitely renormalized
variant, which would mean adopting a different set of theoretical principles and introducing the
attendant set of problems.)33

33The distinction that I am drawing here between dispensable and indispensable idealizations is similar to
Batterman’s distinction between traditional and nontraditional views of mathematical modeling. One difference
is that revising the axioms of a theory is not what he has in mind when he says that “the traditional view aims,
ultimately, to ‘de-idealize’ by adding more details so as to bring about a convergence to a complete and accurate
description” (Batterman 2009, p. 4). Another difference is pointed out in the discussion of infinite limits in the

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The significance of idealization in quantum statistical mechanics (QSM) has recently been
the subject of debate (see Callendar (2001), Batterman (2005) and Ruetsche (2003)). Since there
are many similarities between QFT and QSM, one might expect this debate about idealization
to map onto QFT; however, idealization plays opposing roles in the two cases. The root issues
in the QSM case are the same as in the QFT case: an infinite number of degrees of freedom
and unitarily inequivalent representations. In QSM, the thermodynamic limit is taken, which
is an idealization insofar as the system under consideration (e.g., a steaming cup of coffee) is
represented as containing an infinite number of particles. The thermodynamic limit, which makes
available unitarily inequivalent representations, must be invoked to represent phase transitions
(e.g., a transition from a liquid to a gas). Another point of similarity is that renormalization
group methods are employed in both QFT and QSM. However, there is a crucial difference
between QSM and QFT with an infinite number of degrees of freedom (i.e., either the infinitely
renormalized variant or the formal variant): whereas the description of a system as containing
an infinite number of particles furnished by QSM is taken to be false, the description of space as
continuous and infinite that is furnished by QFT with an infinite number of degrees of freedom
is taken to be true. As far as idealization is concerned, the parallel should not be drawn between
QSM and QFT with an infinite number of degrees of freedom, but between QSM and QFT with a
finite number of degrees of freedom (i.e., the cutoff variant). In the context of QFT, representing
space as being discrete and finite is the same sort of idealization as, in the context of QSM,
representing a system as containing an infinite number of particles. Both idealizations are also
indispensable, in the above sense. However, the fact that there is no alternative to QSM which
is both capable of handling phase transitions and does not employ the idealization means that
there is an argument for adopting QSM that is not available for QFT with cutoffs.

8 Acknowledgements

For helpful feedback, thanks to Laura Ruetsche, Gordon Belot, Nick Huggett, Tony Duncan,
Dave Baker, Hilary Greaves, David Wallace, Steve Weinstein, and especially John Earman.
Thanks also to the audiences of the many talks in which versions of this material were presented.
This research was partially supported by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council.

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