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The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of PhysicsEditedbyRobertBatterman

OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford.ItfurtherstheUniversity'sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship,andeducationbypublishingworldwide.OxfordNewYorkAucklandCapeTownDaresSalaamHongKongKarachiKualaLumpurMadridMelbourneMexicoCityNairobiNewDelhiShanghaiTaipeiTorontoWithofficesinArgentinaAustriaBrazilChileCzechRepublicFranceGreeceGuatemalaHungaryItalyJapanPolandPortugalSingaporeSouthKoreaSwitzerlandThailandTurkeyUkraineVietnamOxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPressintheUKandcertainothercountries.PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016OxfordUniversityPress2013Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermittedbylaw,bylicense,orundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereproductionrightsorganization.InquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeoftheaboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,attheaddressabove.Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherformandyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer.LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

TheOxfordhandbookofphilosophyofphysics/editedbyRobertBatterman.p.cm.ISBN978-0-19-539204-3(alk.paper)1.PhysicsPhilosophy.I.Batterman,RobertW.II.Title:Handbookofphilosophyofphysics.QC6.O9252012530.1dc232012010291135798642

CONTENTS

Contributors Introduction

Robert Batterman

1. For a Philosophy of Hydrodynamics Olivier Darrigol

2. What Is "Classical Mechanics" Anyway? Mark Wilson

3. Causation in Classical Mechanics

Sheldon R. Smith

4. Theories of Matter: Infinities and Renormalization Leo P. Kaodanoff

5. Turn and Face the Strange Ch-ch-changes: Philosophical

Questions Raised by Phase Transitions Tarun Menon and Craig Callender

6. Effective Field Theories

]onathan Bain

7. The Tyranny of Scales Robert Batterman

8. Symmetry

Sorin Bangu

9. Symmetry and Equivalence Gordon Belot

10. lndistinguishability

Simon Saunders

11. Unification in Physics

Margaret Morrison 12. Measurement and Classical Regime in Quantum Mechanics

Guido Bacciagaluppi 13. The Everett Interpretation

David Wallace 14. Unitary Equivalence and Physical Equivalence

Laura Ruetsche 15. Substantivalist and Relationalist Approaches to Spacetime

Oliver Pooley 16. Global Spacetime Structure

John Byron Manchak 17. Philosophy of Cosmology

Chris Smeenk Index

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ContributorsTheOxfordHandbookofPhilosophyofPhysicsEditedbyRobertBatterman

Contributors

GuidoBacciagaluppi

isReaderinPhilosophyattheUniversityofAberdeen.Hisfieldofresearchisthephilosophyofphysics,inparticularthephilosophyofquantumtheory.Healsoworksonthehistoryofquantumtheoryandhaspublishedabookonthe1927Solvayconference(togetherwithA.Valentini).Healsohasinterestsinthefoundationsofprobabilityandinissuesoftimesymmetryandasymmetry.

JonathanBain

isAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyofScienceatthePolytechnicInstituteofNewYorkUniversity.Hisresearchinterestsincludephilosophyofspace-time,scientificrealism,andphilosophyofquantumfieldtheory.

Contributors

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SorinBangu

isAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofBergen,Norway.HereceivedhisPh.D.fromtheUniversityofTorontoandhaspreviouslybeenapostdoctoralfellowattheUniversityofWesternOntarioandafixed-termlecturerattheUniversityofCambridge,DepartmentofHistoryandPhilosophyofScience.Hismaininterestsareinphilosophyofscience(especiallyphilosophyofphysics,mathematics,andprobability)andlaterWittgenstein.Hehaspublishedextensivelyintheseareasandhasrecentlycompletedabookmanuscriptonthemetaphysicalandepistemologicalissuesarisingfromtheapplicabilityofmathematicstoscience.

RobertBatterman

isProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofPittsburgh.HeisaFellowoftheRoyalSocietyofCanada.HeistheauthorofThedevilinthedetails:Asymptoticreasoninginexplanation,reduction,andemergence(Oxford,2002).Hisworkinphilosophyofphysicsfocusesprimarilyupontheareaofcondensedmatterbroadlyconstrued.Hisresearchinterestsincludethefoundationsofstatisticalphysics,dynamicalsystemsandchaos,asymptoticreasoning,mathematicalidealizations,thephilosophyofappliedmathematics,explanation,reduction,andemergence.

GordonBelot

isProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofMichigan.Hehaspublishedanumberofarticlesonphilosophyofphysicsandrelatedareasandonesmallbook,Geometricpossibility(Oxford,2011).

CraigCallender

isProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.Hehaswrittenwidelyinphilosophyofscience,metaphysics,andphilosophyofphysics.HeistheeditorofPhysicsmeetsphilosophyatthePlancklength(withHuggett)andtheOxfordhandbookofthephilosophyoftime.Heiscurrentlyworkingonabookmonographontherelationshipbetweenphysicaltimeandtimeasweexperienceit.

Contributors

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OlivierDarrigol

isaCNRSresearchdirectorintheSPHERE/RehseisresearchteaminParis.Heinvestigatesthehistoryofphysics,mostlynineteenthandtwentiethcentury,withastronginterestinrelatedphilosophicalquestions.HeistheauthorofseveralbooksincludingFromc-numberstoq-numbers:Theclassicalanalogyinthehistoryofquantumtheory(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1992),ElectrodynamicsfromAmpretoEinstein(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2000),Worldsofflow:AhistoryofhydrodynamicsfromtheBernoullistoPrandtl(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2005),andAhistoryofopticsfromGreekantiquitytothenineteenthcentury(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2012).

LeoP.Kadanoff

isatheoreticalphysicistandappliedmathematicianwhohascontributedwidelytoresearchinthepropertiesofmatter,thedevelopmentofurbanareas,statisticalmodelsofphysicalsystems,andthedevelopmentofchaosinsimplemechanicalandfluidsystems.Hisbest-knowncontributionwasinthedevelopmentoftheconceptsofscaleinvarianceanduniversalityastheyareappliedtophasetransitions.Morerecently,hehasbeeninvolvedintheunderstandingofsingularitiesinfluidflow.

JohnByronManchak

isanAssistantProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofWashington.Hisprimaryresearchinterestsareinphilosophyofphysicsandphilosophyofscience.Hisresearchhasfocusedonfoundationalissuesingeneralrelativity.

TarunMenon

isagraduatestudentinPhilosophyattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.Hisresearchinterestsareinthephilosophyofphysicsandmetaphysics,particularlytime,probability,andthefoundationsofstatisticalmechanics.Heisalsointerestedinformalepistemologyandthecognitivestructureofscience.

Contributors

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MargaretMorrison

isProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofToronto.Sheistheauthorofseveralarticlesonvariousaspectsofphilosophyofscienceincludingphysicsandbiology.SheisalsotheauthorofUnifyingscientifictheories:Physicalconceptsandmathematicalstructures(Cambridge,2000)andtheeditor(withMaryMorgan)ofModelsasmediators:Essaysonthephilosophyofnaturalandsocialscience(Cambridge,1999).

OliverPooley

isUniversityLecturerintheFacultyofPhilosophyattheUniversityofOxfordandaFellowandTutoratOrielCollege,Oxford.Heworksinthephilosophyofphysicsandinmetaphysics.Muchofhisresearchfocusesonthenatureofspace,time,andspacetime.

LauraRuetsche

isProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofMichigan.HerInterpretingquantumtheories:Theartofthepossible(Oxford,2011)aimstoarticulatequestionsaboutthefoundationsofquantumfieldtheorieswhoseanswersmightholdinterestforphilosophymorebroadlyconstrued.

SimonSaunders

isProfessorinthePhilosophyofPhysicsandFellowofLinacreCollegeattheUniversityofOxford.Hehasworkedinthefoundationsofquantumfieldtheory,quantummechanics,symmetries,thermodynamics,andstatisticalmechanicsandinthephilosophyoftimeandspacetime.HewasanearlyproponentoftheviewofbranchingintheEverettinterpretationasaneffectiveprocessbasedondecoherence.Heisco-editor(withJonathanBarrett,AdrianKent,andDavidWallace)ofManyworlds?Everett,quantumtheory,andreality(OUP2010).

ChrisSmeenk

isAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofWesternOntario.Hisresearchinterestsarehistoryandphilosophyofphysics,andseventeenth-centurynaturalphilosophy.

Contributors

SheldonR.Smith

isProfessorofPhilosophyatUCLA.Hehaswrittenarticlesonthephilosophyofclassicalmechanics,therelationshipbetweencausationandlaws,thephilosophyofappliedmathematics,andKant'sphilosophyofscience.

DavidWallace

studiedphysicsatOxfordUniversitybeforemovingintophilosophyofphysics.HeisnowTutorialFellowinPhilosophyofScienceatBalliolCollege,Oxford,anduniversitylecturerinPhilosophyatOxfordUniversity.Hisresearchinterestsincludetheinterpretationofquantummechanicsandthephilosophicalandconceptualproblemsofquantumfieldtheory,symmetry,andstatisticalphysics.

MarkWilson

isProfessorofPhilosophyattheUniversityofPittsburgh,aFellowoftheCenterforPhilosophyofScience,andaFellowattheAmericanAcademyofArtsandSciences.Hismainresearchinvestigatesthemannerinwhichphysicalandmathematicalconcernsbecomeentangledwithissuescharacteristicofmetaphysicsandphilosophyoflanguage.HeistheauthorofWanderingsignificance:Anessayonconceptualbehavior(Oxford,2006).Heiscurrentlywritingabookonexplanatorystructure.Heisalsointerestedinthehistoricaldimensionsofthisinterchange;inthisvein,hehaswrittenonDescartes,Frege,Duhem,andWittgenstein.HealsosupervisestheNorthAmericanTraditionsSeriesforRounderRecords.

Introduction

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IntroductionRobertBattermanTheOxfordHandbookofPhilosophyofPhysicsEditedbyRobertBatterman

AbstractandKeywords

Thischapterdiscussesthethemeofthisbook,whichisaboutthephilosophyofphysics.Thebookprovidesanoverviewofthetopicsbeingstudiedbyphilosophersofphysics