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Inconsistency, Asymmetry, And Non-locality: A Philosophical Investigation Of Classical Electrodynamics - Couverture rigide

Livre 7 sur 19: Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Science

Frisch, Mathias

 
9780195172157: Inconsistency, Asymmetry, And Non-locality: A Philosophical Investigation Of Classical Electrodynamics
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0195172159 ISBN 13 : 9780195172157
Editeur : Oxford University Press Inc, 2005

Synopsis

Mathias Frisch provides the first sustained philosophical discussion of conceptual problems in classical particle-field theories. Part of the book focuses on the problem of a satisfactory equation of motion for charged particles interacting with electromagnetic fields. As Frisch shows, the standard equation of motion results in a mathematically inconsistent theory, yet there is no fully consistent and conceptually unproblematic alternative theory. Frisch describes in detail how the search for a fundamental equation of motion is partly driven by pragmatic considerations (like simplicity and mathematical tractability) that can override the aim for full consistency.

The book also offers a comprehensive review and criticism of both the physical and philosophical literature on the temporal asymmetry exhibited by electromagnetic radiation fields, including Einstein's discussion of the asymmetry and Wheeler and Feynman's influential absorber theory of radiation. Frisch argues that attempts to derive the asymmetry from thermodynamic or cosmological considerations fail and proposes that we should understand the asymmetry as due to a fundamental causal constraint.

The book's overarching philosophical thesis is that standard philosophical accounts that strictly identify scientific theories with a mathematical formalism and a mapping function specifying the theory's ontology are inadequate, since they permit neither inconsistent yet genuinely successful theories nor thick causal notions to be part of fundamental physics.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

À propos de l'auteur

Mathias Frisch is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Oxford University Press Inc
Date d'édition
2005
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0195172159
ISBN 13 
9780195172157
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
222
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
Ufficio Anagrafiche Messaggerie
ufficio.anagrafiche@meli.it

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