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Interpreting Theories: The Case of Statistical MechanicsIn Peter Clark & Katherine Hawley (eds.), Philosophy of science today, Oxford University Press Uk. pp. 276--284. 2003.
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2David Pearce. Roads to commensurability. Synthese library, vol. 187. D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht etc. 1987, xi + 253 pp (review)Journal of Symbolic Logic 56 (1): 355-356. 1991.
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44Creating Modern Probability: Its Mathematics, Physics and Philosophy in Historical PerspectiveJournal of Philosophy 91 (11): 622. 1994.
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43In the Wake of Chaos: Unpredictable Order in Dynamic Systems. Stephen H. Kellert (review)Philosophy of Science 64 (1): 184-185. 1997.
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18The Genesis and Evolution of Time (review)International Studies in Philosophy 18 (3): 61-62. 1986.
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16John Blackmore, Ludwig Boltzmann: His later life and philosophy, 1900–1906 book one: A documentary history. Book two: The philosopher. Dordrecht, kluwer academic publishers, 1995, cloth bk1 $89.50, bk2 $130.00 630632 (review)British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47 (4): 630-632. 1996.
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44Interpreting theories: the case of statistical mechanicsBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 51 (4): 729-742. 2000.
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28Comments on Malament’s “ ”Time Travel’ in the Godel Universe‘PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1984. 1984.
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275The reduction(?) Of thermodynamics to statistical mechanicsPhilosophical Studies 95 (1-2). 1999.Peer Reviewed.
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56Philosophy and Spacetime PhysicsUniversity of California Press. 1985.Twelve essays explore the philosophy of science in general and the physical sciences in particular A common theme unites all twelve essays: In discussing the ...
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9The Language of Nature is Mathematics—But Which Mathematics? And What Nature?: XIIProceedings of the Aristotelian Society 98 (3): 241-261. 1998.
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K.G. Denbigh And J.S. Denbigh, Entropy In Relation To Incomplete Knowledge (review)Philosophy in Review 7 54-55. 1987.
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346Space, Time, and SpacetimeUniversity of California Press. 1974.In this book, Lawrence Sklar demonstrates the interdependence of science and philosophy by examining a number of crucial problems on the nature of space and ...
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136How Free Are Initial Conditions?PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1990. 1990.Those who think of some aspects of the world as "physically necessary" usually think of this kind of necessity as being confined to the general law of nature, initial conditions being "contingent." Tachyon theory and general relativity provide independent but related reasons for thinking that some initial states are, however, "impossible." And statistical mechanics seems to lead us to conclude that some initial conditions are, if not impossible, "highly improbable." We are then, led from these a…Read more
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217Dappled theories in a uniform worldPhilosophy of Science 70 (2): 424-441. 2003.It has been argued, most trenchantly by Nancy Cartwright, that the diversity of the concepts and regularities we actually use to describe nature and predict and explain its behavior leaves us with no reason to believe that our foundational physical theories actually "apply" outside of delicately contrived systems within the laboratory. This paper argues that, diversity of method notwithstanding, there is indeed good reason to think that the foundational laws of physics are universal in their sco…Read more
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74Topology Versus Measure in Statistical MechanicsThe Monist 83 (2): 258-273. 2000.Mathematical physics works by representing the contents of the world and the world’s dynamical changes by the components of some mathematical structure and the transformations one can impose on these components. Quite rightly, philosophers of science have concentrated much attention on trying to understand how physicists arrive at the appropriate transformational rules to represent dynamical evolution in the world, that is, on how they find the correct laws of nature. But the preliminary problem…Read more
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23Book Review: The Discovery of Dynamics. By Julian B. Barbour. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, xxiv + 746 pp., $45.00 . ISBN 0-19-513202-5 (review)Foundations of Physics 32 (8): 1325-1326. 2002.
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41Physics, Metaphysics, and Method in Newton's DynamicsIn Richard M. Gale (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Metaphysics, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.This chapter contains sections titled: The Metaphysics of Space, Time, and Motion Issues Concerning Explanation Newton's “Rules of Reasoning in Philosophy”
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41The philosophy of science: a collection of essays (edited book)Garland. 2000.About the Series Contemporary philosophy of science combines a general study from a philosophical perspective of the methods of science, with an inquiry, again from the philosophical point of view, into foundational issues that arise in the various special sciences. Methodological philosophy of science has deep connections with issues at the center of pure philosophy. It makes use of important results, for example, in traditional epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of language. It also …Read more
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Physics and ChanceBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 46 (1): 145-149. 1995.Statistical mechanics is one of the crucial fundamental theories of physics, and in his new book Lawrence Sklar, one of the pre-eminent philosophers of physics, offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to that theory and to attempts to understand its foundational elements. Among the topics treated in detail are: probability and statistical explanation, the basic issues in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, the role of cosmology, the reduction of thermodynamics …Read more
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5Review of JOHN BLACKMORE: Ludwig Boltzmann: His Later Life and Philosophy, 1900–1906 Book One: A Documentary History. Book Two: The Philosopher (review)British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47 (4): 630-632. 1996.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Mathematics |
Philosophy of Physical Science |