Skip to main content

Can the Laws of Nature (Physics) be Complete?

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Synthese Library ((SYLI,volume 259))

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the question of the completeness of physical laws (laws of nature) beginning with some related questions in the tradition and continuing with recent problems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aristotle (Heav) “On the Heavens”, in: The Complete Works of Aristotle, The revised Oxford Translation, Vol. 1, Barnes J. (ed.), Princeton University Press, Princeton 1985, p. 447–511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aspect, A. et al. (1982) “Experimental Tests of Bell’s Inequalities using Time-varying Analysers”, in: Physical Review Vol. 49, p. 1804–1807.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, J. (1992) “Indeterminismus und Nichtlokalität”, in: Naturwissenschaft und Weltbild, ed. H.C. Reichel und E.P. de la Riba, Vienna, p. 85–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, M. (1978) “Regular and Irregular Motion” in: Jorna, S. (ed.) Topics in Nonlinear Dynamics, Amer. Inst. of Physics, New York 1978, p. 16–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casati, G. — Chirikov, B.V. (1994) “The Legacy of Chaos in Quantum Mechanics”, in: Casati, G. — Chirikov, B.V. (eds.) Quantum Chaos Between Order and Disorder, Cambridge University Press 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiao, R.Y. — Kwiat, P.G. — Steinberg, A.M. (1993) “Faster Than Light?”, in: Scientific American 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiao, R.Y. (1994) “Superluminal (but Causal) Propagation of Wave Packets in Transparent Media with Inverted Atomic Populations”, in: Phys. Review A.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chirikov, B.V. (1991a) “Time-Dependent Quantum Systems”, in: Giannoni, M.J. — Voros, A. — Zinn-Justin, J. (eds.) Chaos and Quantum Physics (Les Houches 1989), Elsevier, Amsterdam, p. 443–545.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chirikov, B.V. (1991b) “Patterns in Chaos”, in: Chaos Solitons and Fractals Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 79–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornfeld — Fomin — Sinai (1982) Ergodic Theory, Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dirac, P.A.M. (1973) “Fundamental Constants and Their Development in Time”, in: Mehra, J. (ed.). The Physicist’s Conception of Nature, Reidel, Dordrecht, p. 45–54.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Einstein, A. — Podolski, B. — Rosen, N. (1935) “Can Quantum-mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete”, in: Phys. Review 47, p. 777–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einstein, A. (1949) “Autobiographical Notes”, in: Schilpp, P.A. (ed.), Albert Einstein. Philosopher — Scientist, La Salle, Open Court, p. 1–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberger, D.M. — Horne, M.A. — Zeilinger, A. (1989) “Going beyond Bell’s Theorem”, in: Kafatos, M. (ed.) Bell’s Theorem, Quantum Theory and Conceptions of the Universe, Dordrecht, Kluwer, p. 73–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberger, D.M. — Horne, M.A. — Shimony, A. – Zeilinger, A. (1990) “Bell’s Theorem without Inequalities”, in: Amer. J. of Physics 58, p. 1131f.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawking, St. (1988) A Brief History of Time, London, Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiess, T.E. — Shih, Y.H. — Sergienko, A.V. — Alley, C.O. (1993) “Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm Experiment Using Pairs of Light Quanta Produced by Type-II Parametric Down-Conversion”, in: Rev. Phys. Lett 71, p. 3893.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwiat, P.G. — Steinberg, A.M. — Chiao, R.Y. (1993) “High-Visibility Interference in a Bell-Inequality Experiment for Energy and Time”, in: Physical Review A 47, 4, p. R2472–2475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laplace, P.S. (1951) A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities, New York, Dover.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibniz, G.W. (GP) Die philosophischen Schriften von G. W. Leibniz, Berlin 1875–90, Gerhardt, C.I. (ed.). Reprint: Hildesheim, Georg Olms.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lighthill, J. (1986) “The Recently Recognized Failure of Predictability in Newtonian Dynamics”, in: Proceedings of the Royal Society London A 407, p. 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linde, A. (1990) Inflation and Quantum Cosmology, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, J.C. (MAM) Matter and Motion, Dover, New York 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittelstaedt (1978) Quantum Logic, Reidel, Dordrecht.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, Ch.S. (1935, 1960) Collected Papers of Ch.S. Peirce ed. by Ch. Hartshorne and P. Weiss. Harvard U.P., Cambridge Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K.R. (1959) The Logic of Scientific Discovery, London, Hutchinson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rescher, N. (1967) The Philosophy of Leibniz, Englewood Cliffs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, N. (1985) “Quantum Mechanics and Reality”, in: Lahti, P. — Mittelstaedt, P. (eds.) Symposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics. Singapore, World Scientific, p. 32

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruelle, D. (1991) Chance and Chaos, Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, H.G. (1989) Deterministic Chaos, VCH, Weinheim.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas Aquinas (STh) Summa Theologiae, Latin text and English translation, Balckfriars, London 1962 ff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberg, St. (1977) The First Three Minutes, London, Deutsch.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberg, St. (1987) “Towards the Final Laws of Physics”, in: Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics, Cambridge 1987, p. 61–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weingartner, P. (1983) “The Ideal of Mathematization of All Sciences and of ‘More Geometrico’ in Descartes and Leibniz”, in: Shea, W.R. (ed.) Nature Mathematized, Dordrecht, Reidel, p. 151–195.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Weingartner, P. (1993) “A Logic for QM based on Classical Logic”, in: de la Luiz Garcia Alonso, M. — Moutsopoulos, E. — Seel, G. (eds.), L’Art, la Science et la Métaphysique, Bern, P. Lang, p. 439–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weingartner, P. (1996a) “Under What Transformations are Laws Invariant?”, in: Weingartner, P. – Schurz, G. (eds.) Law and Prediction in the Light of Chaos Research (to appear) .

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Weingartner, P. (1996b) “Are Statistical Laws Genuine Laws? A concern of Poincaré and Boltzmann”, in: Grazer Philosophische Studien (to appear).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigner (1967) Symmetries and Reflections, Bloomington, Indiana Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeilinger, A. (1992) “Physik und Wirklichkeit — Neuere Entwicklungen zum Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradoxon”, in: Naturwissenschaft und Weltbild, Reichel, H.C., Prat de la Riba, E. (eds..), Wien, p. 99–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zermelo, E. (1896a) “Über einen Satz der Dynamik und die mechanische Wärmetheorie”, in: Wied. Annalen 57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zermelo, E. (1896b) “Über die mechanische Erklärung irreversibler Vorgänge”, in: Wied. Annalen 57.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Weingartner, P. (1997). Can the Laws of Nature (Physics) be Complete?. In: Dalla Chiara, M.L., Doets, K., Mundici, D., van Benthem, J. (eds) Logic and Scientific Methods. Synthese Library, vol 259. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0487-8_23

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0487-8_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4786-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-0487-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics