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The Inductive Significance of Observationally Indistinguishable Spacetimes

Norton, John D (2009) The Inductive Significance of Observationally Indistinguishable Spacetimes. In: Underdetermination in Science, 21 March 2009 - 22 March 2009, Pittsburgh, PA. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Results on the observational indistinguishability of spacetimes demonstrate the impossibility of determining by deductive inference which is our spacetime, no matter how extensive a portion of the spacetime is observed. These results do not illustrate an underdetermination of theory by evidence, since they make no decision between competing theories and they make little contact with the inductive considerations that must ground such a decision. Rather, these results express a variety of indeterminism in which a specification of the observable past always fails to fix the remainder of a spacetime. This form of indeterminism is more troubling than the familiar indeterminism of quantum theory. The inductive inferences that can discriminate among the different spacetime extensions of the observed past are here called “opaque,” which means that we cannot readily see the warrant that lies behind them.


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Details

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Norton, John Djdnorton@pitt.eduJDNORTON
Date: 2009
Date Type: Publication
Event Title: Underdetermination in Science
Event Dates: 21 March 2009 - 22 March 2009
Event Type: Conference
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > History and Philosophy of Science
Refereed: No
Uncontrolled Keywords: spacetime, relativity, underdetermination, determinism, induction
Official URL: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00004505/
Date Deposited: 21 May 2009 20:54
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2020 18:55
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/2664

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