Ben Porath, Gal
(2024)
Conceptual and Ontological Foundations of Stochastic
Dynamics.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
From the atomic swerves of Epicurus to the objective wavefunction collapses of Ghirardi and Penrose, speculations about dynamical sources of stochasticity have attracted the attention of some eminent physicists and philosophers. What makes such speculations attractive also makes them challenging: they tell unusual kinds of stories about the physical world. In this dissertation I explore the unique character of these stories and suggest some new ways of telling them. I first borrow the term Tychism to define the speculative belief in the occurrence of determinismdefying events. I identify discontinuous change as the distinguishing feature of tychistic kinematics and show its relevance to different aspects of indeterminism. The dynamics of tychistic models is usually called stochastic and is always formulated probabilistically. Probabilities are, however, inadequate for the expression of the required ontological claims. The inadequacy is proven by establishing that all so-called ‘objective’ accounts of chance involve subject-related claims. I argue for the exclusion of such claims from physical ontology and demonstrate the feasibility of such an exclusion. The adequate formulation of stochastic dynamics is thus exposed as a unique lacuna. To fill it, I begin by offering a non-probabilistic definition of randomness. This definition amounts to a precise and limited interpretation of the radical idea: “whatever can happen, will”. Thinking of stochasticity as quantitative randomness, one is led by the abovementioned definition to a formulation of stochastic dynamics in terms of laws of distribution. I present such a formulation and argue for its adequacy by showing its practical equivalence to the accepted definitions of randomness in the appropriate context. Finally, the plausibility of such stochastic speculations is considered. The unacceptable global aspect usually attributed to distribution laws is overcome by formulating infinitesimal ones. Such laws are found to be in tension with general principles of modern physics. Rather than arguments against their plausibility, these conflicts may be seen as guides in the search for acceptable models of ontological stochasticity as I demonstrate by using them to sketch a model of stochastic gravity.
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| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
18 December 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
22 August 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
18 December 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
3 September 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
127 |
| 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: |
Stochastic
Randomness
Chance |
| Date Deposited: |
18 Dec 2024 20:41 |
| Last Modified: |
27 Mar 2025 17:04 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46964 |
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