Particles, Statistics and Identity in Quantum Theory

According to what is known as the Received View, quantum particles of the same kind have no identity. Quantum statistics provides one of the main arguments for this position, namely that permutations of quantum particles of the same kind do not result in new particle configurations, while permutations of classical particles always do. According to the Received View, there is therefore a sharp contrast between classical and quantum particles. In this article, we criticise the Received View in general and the argument from statistics in particular. We discuss and defend an alternative view, according to which particles in modern physics are not fundamental but rather emergent entities. Accordingly, classical particles are limiting cases of emergent quantum particles, so that the difference between quantum and classical particles is only gradual. We discuss recent objections to this alternative approach.