Physics, structure, and reality / Jill North.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

North, Jill, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Physics--Philosophy.

Physics.

Reality--Philosophy.

Reality.

Mathematics--Philosophy.

Mathematics.

Mechanics--Philosophy.

Mechanics.

Quantum theory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 252 pages) : illustrations (black and white).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, UK : Oxford University Press, [2021]

Summary:

In 'Physics, Structure, and Reality', Jill North addresses a set of questions that get to the heart of the project of interpreting physics - of figuring out what physics is telling us about the world. How do we figure out the nature of the world from a mathematically formulated physical theory? What do we infer about the world when a physical theory can be mathematically formulated in different ways? North argues that there is a certain notion of structure, implicit in physics and mathematics, to which we should pay careful attention in order to discern what physics is telling us about the nature of reality. North draws lessons for related topics, including the use of coordinate systems in physics, the differences among various formulations of classical mechanics, the nature of spacetime structure, the equivalence of physical theories, and the importance of scientific explanation.

Contents:

1: Introduction

2: What is Structure? Why Care about It?

2.1 An example

2.2 Examples from physics

2.3 Related notions

2.4 Comparing structures

3: Inferences about Structure

3.1 Inference rules

3.2 Structure presupposed by the laws

3.3 Minimizing and matching structure

3.4 Other principles

3.5 Invariance, structure, and coordinates

4: Classical Mechanics

4.1 Introduction

4.2 An overview of the theories

4.2.1 Newtonian mechanics

4.2.2 Lagrangian mechanics

4.3 Examples using Newtonian mechanics

4.4 Newton's law and Cartesian coordinates

4.5 Examples using Lagrangian mechanics

4.6 Cross-structural comparison

4.7 Applying the minimize-structure rule

5: Spatiotemporal Structure

5.1 The debate about spacetime

5.2 A brief history of space

5.3 A lesson of the traditional examples

5.4 A disagreement about ground

5.5 The disagreement: further details

5.6 An argument for substantivalism

5.7 A challenge for relationalism

6: Realism about Structure

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Taking the mathematics (too) seriously

6.3 A different realism about structure

6.4 Structure, models, and scientific theories

7: On the Equivalence of Physical Theories

7.1 Differing criteria

7.2 Initial cases

7.3 More cases

7.4 Metaphysical and informational equivalence

7.5 Additional cases

7.6 Explanation matters.

Notes:

This edition also issued in print: 2021.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-191523-8

0-19-264647-8

OCLC:

1249470326