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8Time, chance and reduction: philosophical aspects of statistical mechanics (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2010.Statistical mechanics attempts to explain the behaviour of macroscopic physical systems in terms of the mechanical properties of their constituents. Although it is one of the fundamental theories of physics, it has received little attention from philosophers of science. Nevertheless, it raises philosophical questions of fundamental importance on the nature of time, chance and reduction. Most philosophical issues in this domain relate to the question of the reduction of thermodynamics to statisti…Read more
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99Dispositions in PhysicsIn Gregor Damschen, Robert Schnepf & Karsten Stüber (eds.), Debating Dispositions: Issues in Metaphysics, Epistemology and Philosophy of Mind, De Gruyter. pp. 221-237. 2009.I will argue firstly that law-statements should be understood as attributing dispositional properties. Second, the dispositions I am talking about should not be conceived as causes of their manifestations but rather as contributors to the behavior of compound systems. And finally I will defend the claim that dispositional properties cannot be reduced in any straightforward sense to non-dispositional (categorical) properties and that they need no categorical bases in the first place.
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Michael Heidelberger & Freiderich Steinle (Eds) Experiemental Essays-Versuche zum ExperimentInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 14 (1): 90-91. 2000.
Köln, NRW, Germany
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics |
General Philosophy of Science |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |