Typicality Reasoning In Probability Physics And Metaphysics

Author : Dustin Lazarovici
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2023-12-18
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783031334481

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Typicality Reasoning in Probability, Physics, and Metaphysics by Dustin Lazarovici Pdf

This book provides a comprehensive investigation into the concept of typicality and its significance for physics and the philosophy of science. It identifies typicality as a fundamental way of reasoning, central to how natural laws explain and are tested against phenomena. The book discusses various applications of typicality to foundational questions in physics and beyond.These include: a unified interpretation of objective probabilities in classical mechanics and quantum mechanics a detailed discussion of Boltzmann's statistical mechanics, entropy, and the second law of thermodynamics a novel account of the asymmetry of causation and the arrow of time Finally, the book turns to the question: "What are laws of nature"? It argues that typicality extends to a powerful way of reasoning in metaphysics that can and should inform our commitments about the fundamental ontology of the world. On this basis, it develops an argument against the Humean best system account, according to which laws of nature are merely an efficient summary of contingent regularities.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2024-06-30
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9780198907718

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by Anonim Pdf

Author : Claus Beisbart,Stephan Hartmann
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2011-09-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191618208

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Probabilities in Physics by Claus Beisbart,Stephan Hartmann Pdf

Many results of modern physics—those of quantum mechanics, for instance—come in a probabilistic guise. But what do probabilistic statements in physics mean? Are probabilities matters of objective fact and part of the furniture of the world, as objectivists think? Or do they only express ignorance or belief, as Bayesians suggest? And how are probabilistic hypotheses justified and supported by empirical evidence? Finally, what does the probabilistic nature of physics imply for our understanding of the world? This volume is the first to provide a philosophical appraisal of probabilities in all of physics. Its main aim is to make sense of probabilistic statements as they occur in the various physical theories and models and to provide a plausible epistemology and metaphysics of probabilities. The essays collected here consider statistical physics, probabilistic modelling, and quantum mechanics, and critically assess the merits and disadvantages of objectivist and subjectivist views of probabilities in these fields. In particular, the Bayesian and Humean views of probabilities and the varieties of Boltzmann's typicality approach are examined. The contributions on quantum mechanics discuss the special character of quantum correlations, the justification of the famous Born Rule, and the role of probabilities in a quantum field theoretic framework. Finally, the connections between probabilities and foundational issues in physics are explored. The Reversibility Paradox, the notion of entropy, and the ontology of quantum mechanics are discussed. Other essays consider Humean supervenience and the question whether the physical world is deterministic.

Author : Vinay Ambegaokar
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 1996-07-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 0521442176

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Reasoning about Luck by Vinay Ambegaokar Pdf

This book introduces the reader to statistical reasoning and its use in physics. It differs from other treatments of physics for nonscientists in its wide-ranging use of quantitative methods, which assume only that the reader can add, subtract, multiply and divide with confidence. The author begins with a self-contained introduction to the everyday uses of probability, including the quantitative assessment of statistical information. The author develops the basic idea of mechanical motion, the molecular theory of gases, entropy as a measure of molecular agitation, limitations on the conversion of heat to work, the physics of the direction of time; chaos, and the role of probability in quantum mechanics. To aid self instruction, there are solved problems at the end of each chapter. This book is perfect for undergraduate physics students and nonscience majors.

Author : Detlef Dürr,Dustin Lazarovici
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2020-03-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783030400682

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Understanding Quantum Mechanics by Detlef Dürr,Dustin Lazarovici Pdf

This book discusses the physical and mathematical foundations of modern quantum mechanics and three realistic quantum theories that John Stuart Bell called "theories without observers" because they do not merely speak about measurements but develop an objective picture of the physical world. These are Bohmian mechanics, the GRW collapse theory, and the Many Worlds theory. The book is ideal to accompany or supplement a lecture course on quantum mechanics, but also suited for self-study, particularly for those who have completed such a course but are left puzzled by the question: "What does the mathematical formalism, which I have so laboriously learned and applied, actually tell us about nature?”

Author : Valia Allori
Publisher : World Scientific
Page : 698 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2020-04-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789811211737

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Statistical Mechanics And Scientific Explanation: Determinism, Indeterminism And Laws Of Nature by Valia Allori Pdf

The book explores several open questions in the philosophy and the foundations of statistical mechanics. Each chapter is written by a leading expert in philosophy of physics and/or mathematical physics. Here is a list of questions that are addressed in the book:

Author : Peter A. White
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 579 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2017-03-27
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781315473550

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Psychological Metaphysics by Peter A. White Pdf

The research literature on causal attribution and social cognition generally consists of many fascinating but fragmented and superficial phenomena. These can only be understood as an organised whole by elucidating the fundamental psychological assumptions on which they depend. Originally published in 1993, Psychological Metaphysics is an exploration of the most basic and important assumptions in the psychological construction of reality, with the aim of showing what they are, how they originate, and what they are there for. Peter A. White proposes that people basically understand causation in terms of stable, specific powers of things operating to produce effects under suitable conditions. This underpins an analysis of people’s understanding of causal processes in the physical word and of human action, which makes a radical break with the Heiderian tradition. Psychological Metaphysics suggests that causal attribution is in the service of the person’s practical concerns and any interest in accuracy or understanding is subservient to this. A notion of regularity in the world is of no more than minor importance in causal attribution, and social cognition is not so much a matter of cognitive mechanisms or processes but more of cultural ways of thinking imposed upon tacit, unquestioned, universal assumptions. Psychological Metaphysics incorporates not only research and theory in social cognition and developmental psychology, but also philosophy and the history of ideas. It will be challenging to everyone interested in how we try to understand the world.

Author : David Wallace
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 547 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2012-05-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191057397

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The Emergent Multiverse by David Wallace Pdf

The Emergent Multiverse presents a striking new account of the 'many worlds' approach to quantum theory. The point of science, it is generally accepted, is to tell us how the world works and what it is like. But quantum theory seems to fail to do this: taken literally as a theory of the world, it seems to make crazy claims: particles are in two places at once; cats are alive and dead at the same time. So physicists and philosophers have often been led either to give up on the idea that quantum theory describes reality, or to modify or augment the theory. The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics takes the apparent craziness seriously, and asks, 'what would it be like if particles really were in two places at once, if cats really were alive and dead at the same time'? The answer, it turns out, is that if the world were like that—if it were as quantum theory claims—it would be a world that, at the macroscopic level, was constantly branching into copies—hence the more sensationalist name for the Everett interpretation, the 'many worlds theory'. But really, the interpretation is not sensationalist at all: it simply takes quantum theory seriously, literally, as a description of the world. Once dismissed as absurd, it is now accepted by many physicists as the best way to make coherent sense of quantum theory. David Wallace offers a clear and up-to-date survey of work on the Everett interpretation in physics and in philosophy of science, and at the same time provides a self-contained and thoroughly modern account of it—an account which is accessible to readers who have previously studied quantum theory at undergraduate level, and which will shape the future direction of research by leading experts in the field.

Author : Yemima Ben-Menahem,Meir Hemmo
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2012-01-25
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642213281

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Probability in Physics by Yemima Ben-Menahem,Meir Hemmo Pdf

What is the role and meaning of probability in physical theory, in particular in two of the most successful theories of our age, quantum physics and statistical mechanics? Laws once conceived as universal and deterministic, such as Newton‘s laws of motion, or the second law of thermodynamics, are replaced in these theories by inherently probabilistic laws. This collection of essays by some of the world‘s foremost experts presents an in-depth analysis of the meaning of probability in contemporary physics. Among the questions addressed are: How are probabilities defined? Are they objective or subjective? What is their explanatory value? What are the differences between quantum and classical probabilities? The result is an informative and thought-provoking book for the scientifically inquisitive.

Author : Maria Carla Galavotti,Dennis Dieks,Wenceslao J. Gonzalez,Stephan Hartmann,Thomas Uebel,Marcel Weber
Publisher : Springer
Page : 754 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2014-06-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319043821

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New Directions in the Philosophy of Science by Maria Carla Galavotti,Dennis Dieks,Wenceslao J. Gonzalez,Stephan Hartmann,Thomas Uebel,Marcel Weber Pdf

This volume sheds light on still unexplored issues and raises new questions in the main areas addressed by the philosophy of science. Bringing together selected papers from three main events, the book presents the most advanced scientific results in the field and suggests innovative lines for further investigation. It explores how discussions on several notions of the philosophy of science can help different scientific disciplines in learning from each other. Finally, it focuses on the relationship between Cambridge and Vienna in twentieth century philosophy of science. The areas examined in the book are: formal methods, the philosophy of the natural and life sciences, the cultural and social sciences, the physical sciences and the history of the philosophy of science.

Author : Lawrence Sklar
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 458 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0521558816

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Physics and Chance by Lawrence Sklar Pdf

Lawrence Sklar offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to statistical mechanics and attempts to understand its foundational elements.

Author : Joseph Y. Halpern
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2019-02-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262537131

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Actual Causality by Joseph Y. Halpern Pdf

A new approach for defining causality and such related notions as degree of responsibility, degrees of blame, and causal explanation. Causality plays a central role in the way people structure the world; we constantly seek causal explanations for our observations. But what does it even mean that an event C “actually caused” event E? The problem of defining actual causation goes beyond mere philosophical speculation. For example, in many legal arguments, it is precisely what needs to be established in order to determine responsibility. The philosophy literature has been struggling with the problem of defining causality since Hume. In this book, Joseph Halpern explores actual causality, and such related notions as degree of responsibility, degree of blame, and causal explanation. The goal is to arrive at a definition of causality that matches our natural language usage and is helpful, for example, to a jury deciding a legal case, a programmer looking for the line of code that cause some software to fail, or an economist trying to determine whether austerity caused a subsequent depression. Halpern applies and expands an approach to causality that he and Judea Pearl developed, based on structural equations. He carefully formulates a definition of causality, and building on this, defines degree of responsibility, degree of blame, and causal explanation. He concludes by discussing how these ideas can be applied to such practical problems as accountability and program verification. Technical details are generally confined to the final section of each chapter and can be skipped by non-mathematical readers.

Author : Mauricio Suárez
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 259 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2010-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781402099045

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Probabilities, Causes and Propensities in Physics by Mauricio Suárez Pdf

This volume defends a novel approach to the philosophy of physics: it is the first book devoted to a comparative study of probability, causality, and propensity, and their various interrelations, within the context of contemporary physics -- particularly quantum and statistical physics. The philosophical debates and distinctions are firmly grounded upon examples from actual physics, thus exemplifying a robustly empiricist approach. The essays, by both prominent scholars in the field and promising young researchers, constitute a pioneer effort in bringing out the connections between probabilistic, causal and dispositional aspects of the quantum domain. The book will appeal to specialists in philosophy and foundations of physics, philosophy of science in general, metaphysics, ontology of physics theories, and philosophy of probability.

Author : Mathias Frisch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2014-10-09
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781107031494

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Causal Reasoning in Physics by Mathias Frisch Pdf

This book argues, partly through detailed case studies, for the importance of causal reasoning in physics.

Author : David Z Albert
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2003-02-28
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780674020139

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Time and Chance by David Z Albert Pdf

This book is an attempt to get to the bottom of an acute and perennial tension between our best scientific pictures of the fundamental physical structure of the world and our everyday empirical experience of it. The trouble is about the direction of time. The situation (very briefly) is that it is a consequence of almost every one of those fundamental scientific pictures--and that it is at the same time radically at odds with our common sense--that whatever can happen can just as naturally happen backwards. Albert provides an unprecedentedly clear, lively, and systematic new account--in the context of a Newtonian-Mechanical picture of the world--of the ultimate origins of the statistical regularities we see around us, of the temporal irreversibility of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, of the asymmetries in our epistemic access to the past and the future, and of our conviction that by acting now we can affect the future but not the past. Then, in the final section of the book, he generalizes the Newtonian picture to the quantum-mechanical case and (most interestingly) suggests a very deep potential connection between the problem of the direction of time and the quantum-mechanical measurement problem. The book aims to be both an original contribution to the present scientific and philosophical understanding of these matters at the most advanced level, and something in the nature of an elementary textbook on the subject accessible to interested high-school students.