Overview
- Discusses various applications of typicality to foundational questions in physics
- Shows that typicality is a powerful way of reasoning in metaphysics
- Develops an argument against the Humean best system account
Part of the book series: New Directions in the Philosophy of Science (NDPS)
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Table of contents (16 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Beyond Physics
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
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 theHumean best system account, according to which laws of nature are merely an efficient summary of contingent regularities.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Typicality Reasoning in Probability, Physics, and Metaphysics
Authors: Dustin Lazarovici
Series Title: New Directions in the Philosophy of Science
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33448-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-33447-4Published: 17 November 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-33450-4Due: 18 December 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-33448-1Published: 16 November 2023
Series ISSN: 2947-6828
Series E-ISSN: 2947-6836
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVII, 374
Number of Illustrations: 15 b/w illustrations
Topics: History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mathematics