Author : Günther Ludwig
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 46,49 MB
Release : 2007-06-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 3540308334
Aims to clarify and formulate the fundamental ideas of physical theories. Suitable for both physicists and philosophers of science, this book introduces the concept of idealization and reviews the process of discovering new concepts.
Author : Günther Ludwig
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 49,27 MB
Release : 2007-12-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 3540308326
Written in the tradition of G. Ludwig’s groundbreaking works, this book aims to clarify and formulate more precisely the fundamental ideas of physical theories. By introducing a basic descriptive language of simple form, in which it is possible to formulate recorded facts, ambiguities of physical theories are avoided as much as possible. In this approach the field of physics that should be described by a theory is determined by basic concepts only, i.e. concepts that can be explained without a theory. In this context the authors introduce a new concept of idealization and review the process of discovering new concepts. They believe that, when the theories are formulated within an axiomatic basis, solutions can be found to many difficult problems such as the interpretation of physical theories, the relations between theories as well as the introduction of physical concepts. The book addresses both physicists and philosophers of science and should encourage the reader to contribute to the understanding of the lasting core of physical knowledge about the real structures of the world.
Author : Lawrence Sklar
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 37,83 MB
Release : 2014-09-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0199336024
In nine new essays, distinguished philosophers of science take on outstanding philosophical issues that arise in the exploration of the foundations of contemporary, especially physical scientific theories. In the first part of the book issues of scientific method are explored. What are we asking when we pose scientific "why?" questions? How does probability play a role in answering such questions? What are scientific laws of nature? How can we understand what abstract theories are telling us about the world? What is the structure of the theories we use to explain the observable phenomena? Finally, how do theories evolve over time and what consequence do such changes have for our intuition that science is seeking the truth? In the second part of the volume, foundational issues are explored in a number of crucial physical theories. What do our best available theories tell us about space and time? When we apply quantum theory to fields or other systems with infinite degrees of freedom, what new foundational puzzles appear and how might a theory of interpretation deal with them? Finally, what are the crucial foundational issues in statistical mechanics, where probabilities are applied to explain macroscopic thermal phenomena?
Author : Stephen Wolfram
Publisher : Wolfram Media
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 36,20 MB
Release : 2020
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781579550356
The Wolfram Physics Project is a bold effort to find the fundamental theory of physics. It combines new ideas with the latest research in physics, mathematics and computation in the push to achieve this ultimate goal of science. Written with Stephen Wolfram's characteristic expository flair, this book provides a unique opportunity to learn about a historic initiative in science right as it is happening. A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics includes an accessible introduction to the project as well as core technical exposition and rich, never-before-seen visualizations.
Author : Tim Maudlin
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 22,31 MB
Release : 2019-03-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 069118352X
A sophisticated and original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics from one of the world’s leading philosophers of physics In this book, Tim Maudlin, one of the world’s leading philosophers of physics, offers a sophisticated, original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. The briefest, clearest, and most refined account of his influential approach to the subject, the book will be invaluable to all students of philosophy and physics. Quantum mechanics holds a unique place in the history of physics. It has produced the most accurate predictions of any scientific theory, but, more astonishing, there has never been any agreement about what the theory implies about physical reality. Maudlin argues that the very term “quantum theory” is a misnomer. A proper physical theory should clearly describe what is there and what it does—yet standard textbooks present quantum mechanics as a predictive recipe in search of a physical theory. In contrast, Maudlin explores three proper theories that recover the quantum predictions: the indeterministic wavefunction collapse theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber; the deterministic particle theory of deBroglie and Bohm; and the conceptually challenging Many Worlds theory of Everett. Each offers a radically different proposal for the nature of physical reality, but Maudlin shows that none of them are what they are generally taken to be.
Author : Mario Bunge
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 50,20 MB
Release : 2013-03-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 3642492878
This is not an introduction to physics but an analysis of its founda tions. Indeed, the aims of this book are: (1) to analyze the form and content of some of the key ideas of physics; (2) to formulate several basic physical theories in an explicit and orderly (i. e. , axiomatic) fashion; (3) to exhibit their presuppositions and discuss some of their philosoph ical implications; (4) to discuss some of the controversial issues, and (5) to debunk certain dusty philosophical tenets that obscure the under standing of physics and hinder its progress. To the extent to which these goals are attained, the volume can serve as a companion to studies in theoretical physics aiming at deepening the understanding of the logical structure and the physical meaning of our science. In order to keep the book slender, whole fields of basic physical research had to be excluded - chiefly many-body physics, quantum field theories, and elementary particle theories. A large coverage was believed to be less important than a comparatively detailed analysis and reconstruction of three representative monuments: classical mechan ics, general relativity, and quantum mechanics, as well as their usually unrecognized presuppositions. The reader is invited to join the project and supply some of the many missing chapters - or to rewrite the present ones entirely.
Author :
Publisher : Univalent Foundations
Page : 484 pages
File Size : 33,93 MB
Release :
Category :
ISBN :
Author : Michael Friedman
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 403 pages
File Size : 23,79 MB
Release : 2014-07-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 1400855128
This book, explores the conceptual foundations of Einstein's theory of relativity: the fascinating, yet tangled, web of philosophical, mathematical, and physical ideas that is the source of the theory's enduring philosophical interest. Originally published in 1983. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Author : Stephen Wolfram
Publisher :
Page : 1197 pages
File Size : 12,87 MB
Release : 2002
Category : Cellular automata
ISBN : 9780713991161
This work presents a series of dramatic discoveries never before made public. Starting from a collection of simple computer experiments---illustrated in the book by striking computer graphics---Wolfram shows how their unexpected results force a whole new way of looking at the operation of our universe. Wolfram uses his approach to tackle a remarkable array of fundamental problems in science: from the origin of the Second Law of thermodynamics, to the development of complexity in biology, the computational limitations of mathematics, the possibility of a truly fundamental theory of physics, and the interplay between free will and determinism.
Author : M. Bunge
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 29,38 MB
Release : 2013-03-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 3642806244
This is a collection of technical papers in the foundations and the philoso It takes both "foundations" phy of physics with emphasis on the former. and "philosophy" in their narrow technical senses but it construes "physics" lato sensu, as including all the sciences of nonliving systems. All eleven papers constituting this volume were written for it. The problems tackled in this book concern certain basic concepts, hypotheses, theories, and research programmes in physical science. Some of these problems are topical, others new, but they are all fundamental and the subject of research and controversy. Consequently this volume is expected to serve those students, teachers and researchers who enjoy learning, teaching, discussing or doing theoretical physics. It is addressed to the nine to niners rather than to the nine to fivers. It is expected to attract the theoretician in search for new basic ideas, the teacher eager to perfect his understanding of physical theory and transmit his own zeal and his own doubts, as well as the student anxious to get down to essentials. This book may also interest the mathematician for whom physics offers a challenge (or a good pretext). Finally, it should get the attention of the philosopher of science aware of the advantages of philosophizing on foundations research problems rather than on the popularization of some results of research. There are at least two reasons for valuing foundations research.
