Shech, Elay
(2015)
ASSUME A SPHERICAL COW: STUDIES ON REPRESENTATION AND IDEALIZATION.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This dissertation concerns the philosophical underpinnings of representation and idealization in science. I begin by looking at the philosophical debate revolving around phase transitions and use it as a foil to bring out what I take to be most interesting about phase transitions, namely, the manner by which they illustrate the problem of essential idealizations. I continue to solve the problem in several steps. First, I conduct an interdisciplinary comparative study of different types of representations (e.g., mental, linguistic, pictorial) and consequently promote a content-based account of scientific representation intended to accommodate the practice of idealization and misrepresentation. I then critically asses the literature on idealizations in science in order to identify the manner by which to justify appeals to idealizations in science, and implement such techniques in two case studies that merit special attention: the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the quantum Hall effects. I proceed to offer a characterization of essential idealizations meant to alleviate the woes associated with said problem, and argue that particular types of idealizations, dubbed pathological idealizations, ought to be dispensed with. My motto is that idealizations are essential to explanation and representation, as well as to methodology and pedagogy, but they essentially misrepresent. Implications for the debate on platonism about mathematical objects are outlined.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
| Title | Member | Email Address | Pitt Username | ORCID |
|---|
| Committee CoChair | Norton, John D. | jdnorton@pitt.edu | JDNORTON | | | Committee CoChair | Earman, John | jearman@pitt.edu | JEARMAN | | | Committee Member | Batterman, Robert W. | | | | | Committee Member | Valente, Giovanni | | | | | Committee Member | Ruetsche, Laura | | | |
|
| Date: |
23 June 2015 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
30 March 2015 |
| Approval Date: |
23 June 2015 |
| Submission Date: |
16 April 2015 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
286 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > History and Philosophy of Science |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Mathematics, Representation and Idealization, Phase Transitions, Aharonov-Bohm Effect, Quantum Hall Effects |
| Date Deposited: |
23 Jun 2015 12:39 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:27 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24941 |
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