Guo, Bixin
(2024)
The Layered World.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
We’re surrounded by medium-sized dry goods: tables, rocks, cats, etc. At higher levels or larger scales, there are planets and galaxies. At lower or more fundamental levels, there are molecules, atoms, and electrons. How are these different things, or different levels of descriptions, related to one another? What can we know about tables from studying the theories of particles? Can the former be reduced to the latter? Questions like these concern inter-level relations (that is, relations between certain aspects of the world at different levels or scales) as well as inter-theoretic relations. This dissertation uses examples to demonstrate how taking inter-level relations into account affects our philosophical understanding of the physical world. It focuses on three particular aspects: (1) ontology and theory, (2) fundamentality, and (3) laws of nature.
Chapter 1 draws on a case study from statistical mechanics to argue for the significance of drawing a distinction between two ways in which ontological and inter-theoretic reduction can be related. Chapter 2 addresses a problem of proposals that aim to draw the fundamental ontology of the world while focusing on non-fundamental theories (such as nonrelativistic quantum particle mechanics). Chapter 3 examines prominent accounts of laws that focus on the fundamental laws (Lewis’ Best System Account and Loewer’s Package Deal Account), and argues that they are at odds with scientific realism.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
15 August 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
16 August 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
2 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 2 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
112 |
| 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 science, philosophy of physics, metaphysics, laws of nature, reduction, inter-level relations, statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, fundamentality |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Aug 2024 11:45 |
| Last Modified: |
27 Aug 2024 11:45 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46941 |
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