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Why Trust a Theory? Radin Dardashti

Why Trust a Theory? By Radin Dardashti

Why Trust a Theory? by Radin Dardashti


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Summary

Certain topics in fundamental physics are not empirically verifiable, including cosmic inflation, the multiverse and string theory. This collection of essays from leading physicists, philosophers and historians of science provides interdisciplinary perspectives on the epistemic status of contemporary fundamental physics.

Why Trust a Theory? Summary

Why Trust a Theory?: Epistemology of Fundamental Physics by Radin Dardashti

Do we need to reconsider scientific methodology in light of modern physics? Has the traditional scientific method become outdated, does it need to be defended against dangerous incursions, or has it always been different from what the canonical view suggests? To what extent should we accept non-empirical strategies for scientific theoryassessment? Many core aspects of contemporary fundamental physics are far from empirically well-confirmed. There is controversy on the epistemic status of the corresponding theories, in particular cosmic inflation, the multiverse, and string theory. Thiscollection of essays is based on thehigh profile workshop 'Why Trust a Theory?' and provides interdisciplinary perspectives on empirical testing in fundamental physicsfrom leading physicists, philosophers and historians of science. Integrating different contemporary and historical positions, it will be of interest to philosophers of science and physicists,as well as anyone interested in the foundations of contemporary science.

Why Trust a Theory? Reviews

'Anyone interested in current speculations about fundamental physics, in particular debates about its methodology and justification, will find much fascinating reading here.' Casey McCoy, The Observatory Magazine

About Radin Dardashti

Radin Dardashti is Junior Professor in Philosophy of Physics at the University of Wuppertal. His research focuses on the various methods used in theory development and assessment in modern physics. Richard Dawid is Professor of Philosophy of Science at Stockholm University. His research focuses on epistemic issues in contemporary, fundamental physics. He is the author of String Theory and the Scientific Method (Cambridge, 2013). Karim Thebault is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Science at the University of Bristol. His research interests are principally within the Philosophy of Physics, with an emphasis on classical and quantum theories of gravity.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Radin Dardashti, Richard Dawid and Karim Thebault; 2. Fundamental theories and epistemic shifts: can history of science serve as a guide? Helge Kragh; 3. Scientific speculation a pragmatic approach Peter Achinstein; 4. Assessing scientific theories Radin Dardashti and Stephan Hartmann; 5. Philosophy of science and the string wars: a view from the outside Massimo Pigliucci; 6. The significance of non-empirical confirmation in fundamental physics Richard Dawid; 7. The dangers of non-empirical confirmation Carlo Rovelli; 8. No alternative to proliferation Daniele Oriti; 9. Physics without experiments? Radin Dardashti; 10. Scientific methodology: a view from early string theory Elena Castellani; 11. What can we learn from analogue experiments? Karim Thebault; 12. Are black holes about information? Christian Wuthrich; 13. The limits of cosmology Joseph Silk; 14. The role of cosmology in modern physics Bjorn Malte Schafer; 15. Theory confirmation and multiverses George Ellis; 16. Beyond falsifiability: normal science in a multiverse Sean Carroll; 17. Gaining access to the early universe Chris Smeenk; 18. String theory to the rescue Joseph Polchinski; 19. Why trust a theory? Some further remarks Joseph Polchinski; 20. The dangerous irrelevance of string theory Eva Silverstein; 21. String/M-theories about our world are testable in the traditional physics way Gordon Kane; 22. Is string phenomenology an oxymoron? Fernando Quevedo.

Additional information

NPB9781108470957
9781108470957
1108470955
Why Trust a Theory?: Epistemology of Fundamental Physics by Radin Dardashti
New
Hardback
Cambridge University Press
2019-03-14
446
N/A
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