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Entropy - A Guide for the Perplexed

In Claus Beisbart & Stephan Hartmann (eds.), Probabilities in Physics. Oxford University Press. pp. 115-142 (2011)

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  1. Physics and Chance.Lawrence Sklar - 1995 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 46 (1):145-149.
    Statistical mechanics is one of the crucial fundamental theories of physics, and in his new book Lawrence Sklar, one of the pre-eminent philosophers of physics, offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to that theory and to attempts to understand its foundational elements. Among the topics treated in detail are: probability and statistical explanation, the basic issues in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, the role of cosmology, the reduction of thermodynamics to statistical mechanics, and the alleged foundation of the very notion (...)
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  • Time in Thermodynamics.Jill North - 2011 - In Criag Callender (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Time. Oxford University Press. pp. 312--350.
    Or better: time asymmetry in thermodynamics. Better still: time asymmetry in thermodynamic phenomena. “Time in thermodynamics” misleadingly suggests that thermodynamics will tell us about the fundamental nature of time. But we don’t think that thermodynamics is a fundamental theory. It is a theory of macroscopic behavior, often called a “phenomenological science.” And to the extent that physics can tell us about the fundamental features of the world, including such things as the nature of time, we generally think that only fundamental (...)
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  • Boltzmann's Approach to Statistical Mechanics.Sheldon Goldstein - unknown
    In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Ludwig Boltzmann explained how irreversible macroscopic laws, in particular the second law of thermodynamics, originate in the time-reversible laws of microscopic physics. Boltzmann’s analysis, the essence of which I shall review here, is basically correct. The most famous criticisms of Boltzmann’s later work on the subject have little merit. Most twentieth century innovations – such as the identification of the state of a physical system with a probability distribution on its phase space, (...)
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  • Determinism: what we have learned and what we still don't know.John Earman - 2004 - In Joseph K. Campbell (ed.), Freedom and Determinism. Cambridge Ma: Bradford Book/Mit Press. pp. 21--46.
    The purpose of this paper is to give a brief survey the implications of the theories of modern physics for the doctrine of determinism. The survey will reveal a curious feature of determinism: in some respects it is fragile, requiring a number of enabling assumptions to give it a fighting chance; but in other respects it is quite robust and very difficult to kill. The survey will also aim to show that, apart from its own intrinsic interest, determinism is an (...)
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  • Derivation of the born rule from operational assumptions.Simon Saunders - manuscript
    The Born rule is derived from operational assumptions, together with assumptions of quantum mechanics that concern only the deterministic development of the state. Unlike Gleason’s theorem, the argument applies even if probabilities are de…ned for only a single resolution of the identity, so it applies to a variety of foundational approaches to quantum mechanics. It also provides a probability rule for state spaces that are not Hilbert spaces.
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  • Zur Quantenmechanik der Stoßvorgänge.Max Born - 1926 - Zeitschrift für Physik 37 (12):863-867.
    Durch eine Untersuchung der Stoßvorgänge wird die Auffassung entwickelt, daß die Quantenmechanik in der Schrödingerschen Form nicht nur die stationären Zustände, sondern auch die Quantensprünge zu beschreiben gestattet.
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  • Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity: Metaphysical Intimations of Modern Physics.Tim Maudlin - 1997 - Philosophical Quarterly 47 (186):118-120.
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  • Determinism and Chance from a Humean Perspective.Roman Frigg & Carl Hoefer - 2010 - In Friedrich Stadler, Dennis Dieks, Wenceslao González, Hartmann J., Uebel Stephan, Weber Thomas & Marcel (eds.), The Present Situation in the Philosophy of Science. Springer. pp. 351--72.
    On the face of it ‘deterministic chance’ is an oxymoron: either an event is chancy or deterministic, but not both. Nevertheless, the world is rife with events that seem to be exactly that: chancy and deterministic at once. Simple gambling devices like coins and dice are cases in point. On the one hand they are governed by deterministic laws – the laws of classical mechanics – and hence given the initial condition of, say, a coin toss it is determined whether (...)
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  • A Course in Mathematical Logic.J. L. Bell & M. Machover - 1978 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 29 (2):207-208.
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  • Probability in the Everett world: Comments on Wallace and Greaves.Huw Price - unknown
    It is often objected that the Everett interpretation of QM cannot make sense of quantum probabilities, in one or both of two ways: either it can’t make sense of probability at all, or it can’t explain why probability should be governed by the Born rule. David Deutsch has attempted to meet these objections. He argues not only that rational decision under uncertainty makes sense in the Everett interpretation, but also that under reasonable assumptions, the credences of a rational agent in (...)
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  • A Suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of ‘Hidden’ Variables, I and II.David Bohm - 1952 - Physical Review (85):166-193.
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  • Critical Rationalism: A Restatement and Defence.David Miller - 1995 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 46 (4):610-616.
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  • Critical Rationalism. A Restatement and Defence.David Miller - 1995 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 185 (3):368-371.
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  • Conditional Probability Is the Very Guide of Life.Alan Hájek - 2003 - In Kyburg Jr, E. Henry & Mariam Thalos (eds.), Probability is the Very Guide of Life: The Philosophical Uses of Chance. Open Court. pp. 183--203.
    in Probability is the Very Guide of Life: The Philosophical Uses of Chance, eds. Henry Kyburg, Jr. and Mariam Thalos, Open Court. Abridged version in Proceedings of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis 2002.
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  • Interpretations of Probability in Quantum Mechanics: A Case of “Experimental Metaphysics”.Geoffrey Hellman - 2009 - In Wayne C. Myrvold & Joy Christian (eds.), Quantum Reality, Relativistic Causality, and Closing the Epistemic Circle. Springer. pp. 211--227.
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  • Non-relativistic quantum mechanics.Michael Dickson - unknown
    This essay is a discussion of the philosophical and foundational issues that arise in non-relativistic quantum theory. After introducing the formalism of the theory, I consider: characterizations of the quantum formalism, empirical content, uncertainty, the measurement problem, and non-locality. In each case, the main point is to give the reader some introductory understanding of some of the major issues and recent ideas.
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  • Why typicality does not explain the approach to equilibrium.Roman Frigg - 2011 - In .
    Why do systems prepared in a non-equilibrium state approach, and eventually reach, equilibrium? An important contemporary version of the Boltzmannian approach to statistical mechanics answers this question by an appeal to the notion of typicality. The problem with this approach is that it comes in different versions, which are, however, not recognised as such, much less clearly distinguished, and we often find different arguments pursued side by side. The aim of this paper is to disentangle different versions of typicality-based explanations (...)
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  • Chaos and randomness: An equivalence proof of a generalized version of the Shannon entropy and the kolmogorov–sinai entropy for Hamiltonian dynamical systems.Roman Frigg - manuscript
    Chaos is often explained in terms of random behaviour; and having positive Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy (KSE) is taken to be indicative of randomness. Although seemly plausible, the association of positive KSE with random behaviour needs justification since the definition of the KSE does not make reference to any notion that is connected to randomness. A common way of justifying this use of the KSE is to draw parallels between the KSE and ShannonÕs information theoretic entropy. However, as it stands this no (...)
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  • Models and Analogies in Science.Mary B. Hesse - 1966 - Philosophy and Rhetoric 3 (3):190-191.
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  • Many Worlds: an introduction.Simon Saunders - unknown
    This is a self-contained introduction to the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is the introductory chapter of Many Worlds? Everett, quantum theory, and reality, S. Saunders, J. Barrett, A. Kent, and D. Wallace, Oxford University Press.
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  • Unified dynamics for microscopic and macroscopic systems.GianCarlo Ghirardi, Alberto Rimini & Tullio Weber - 1986 - Physical Review D 34 (D):470–491.
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  • Why special relativity should not be a template for a fundamental reformulation of quantum mechanics.Harvey R. Brown & Christopher G. Timpson - 2006 - In William Demopoulos & Itamar Pitowsky (eds.), Physical Theory and its Interpretation. Springer. pp. 29-42.
    In a comparison of the principles of special relativity and of quantum mechanics, the former theory is marked by its relative economy and apparent explanatory simplicity. A number of theorists have thus been led to search for a small number of postulates - essentially information theoretic in nature - that would play the role in quantum mechanics that the relativity principle and the light postulate jointly play in Einstein's 1905 special relativity theory. The purpose of the present paper is to (...)
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  • Everett and evidence.Hilary Greaves & Wayne Myrvold - 2010 - In Simon Saunders, Jonathan Barrett, Adrian Kent & David Wallace (eds.), Many Worlds?: Everett, Quantum Theory & Reality. Oxford University Press.
    Much of the evidence for quantum mechanics is statistical in nature. The Everett interpretation, if it is to be a candidate for serious consideration, must be capable of doing justice to reasoning on which statistical evidence in which observed relative frequencies that closely match calculated probabilities counts as evidence in favour of a theory from which the probabilities are calculated. Since, on the Everett interpretation, all outcomes with nonzero amplitude are actualized on different branches, it is not obvious that sense (...)
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  • Models as Mediating Instruments.Margaret Morrison & Mary S. Morgan - 1999 - In Mary S. Morgan & Margaret Morrison (eds.), Models as Mediators: Perspectives on Natural and Social Science. Cambridge University Press.
    Morrison and Morgan argue for a view of models as 'mediating instruments' whose role in scientific theorising goes beyond applying theory. Models are partially independent of both theories and the world. This autonomy allows for a unified account of their role as instruments that allow for exploration of both theories and the world.
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  • ”Relative state’ formulation of quantum mechanics.Hugh Everett - 1957 - Reviews of Modern Physics 29 (3):454--462.
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  • Probabilistic Explanations.James H. Fetzer - 1982 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1982:194-207.
    The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic defense of the single-case propensity account of probabilistic explanation from the criticisms advanced by Hanna and by Humphreys and to offer a critical appraisal of the aleatory conception advanced by Humphreys and of the deductive-nomological-probabilistic approach Railton has proposed. The principal conclusion supported by this analysis is that the Requirements of Maximal Specificity and of Strict Maximal Specificity afford the foundation for completely objective explanations of probabilistic explananda, so long as (...)
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  • Models and Analogies in Science.Mary Hesse - 1965 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 16 (62):161-163.
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  • The Foundations of Statistics.Leonard J. Savage - 1956 - Philosophy of Science 23 (2):166-166.
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  • Quantum mechanics as a theory of probability.Itamar Pitowsky - unknown
    We develop and defend the thesis that the Hilbert space formalism of quantum mechanics is a new theory of probability. The theory, like its classical counterpart, consists of an algebra of events, and the probability measures defined on it. The construction proceeds in the following steps: (a) Axioms for the algebra of events are introduced following Birkhoff and von Neumann. All axioms, except the one that expresses the uncertainty principle, are shared with the classical event space. The only models for (...)
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  • A Conceptual Introduction to Nelson’s Mechanics.Guido Bacciagaluppi - unknown
    Nelson’s programme for a stochastic mechanics aims to derive the wave function and the Schroedinger equation from natural conditions on a diffusion process in configuration space. If successful, this pro- gramme might have some advantages over the better-known determin- istic pilot-wave theory of de Broglie and Bohm. The essential points of Nelson’s strategy are reviewed, with particular emphasis on concep- tual issues relating to the role of time symmetry. The main problem in Nelson’s approach is the lack of strict equivalence (...)
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  • De finetti's earliest works on the foundations of probability.Jan von Plato - 1989 - Erkenntnis 31 (2-3):263 - 282.
    Bruno de Finetti's earliest works on the foundations of probability are reviewed. These include the notion of exchangeability and the theory of random processes with independent increments. The latter theory relates to de Finetti's ideas for a probabilistic science more generally. Different aspects of his work are united by his foundational programme for a theory of subjective probabilities.
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  • Statistical inference without frequentist justifications.Jan Sprenger - 2010 - In M. Dorato M. Suàrez (ed.), Epsa Epistemology and Methodology of Science. Springer. pp. 289--297.
    Statistical inference is often justified by long-run properties of the sampling distributions, such as the repeated sampling rationale. These are frequentist justifications of statistical inference. I argue, in line with existing philosophical literature, but against a widespread image in empirical science, that these justifications are flawed. Then I propose a novel interpretation of probability in statistics, the artefactual interpretation. I believe that this interpretation is able to bridge the gap between statistical probability calculations and rational decisions on the basis of (...)
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  • On the uniqueness of quantum equilibrium in Bohmian mechanics.Sheldon Goldstein & W. Struyve - manuscript
    In Bohmian mechanics the distribution |ψ|2 is regarded as the equilibrium distribution. We consider its uniqueness, finding that it is the unique equivariant distribution that is also a local functional of the wave function ψ.
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  • Maximal beable subalgebras of quantum-mechanical observables.Hans Halvorson & Rob Clifton - 1999 - International Journal of Theoretical Physics 38:2441-2484.
    The centerpiece of Jeffrey Bub's book Interpreting the Quantum World is a theorem (Bub and Clifton 1996) which correlates each member of a large class of no-collapse interpretations with some 'privileged observable'. In particular, the Bub-Clifton theorem determines the unique maximal sublattice L(R,e) of propositions such that (a) elements of L(R,e) can be simultaneously determinate in state e, (b) L(R,e) contains the spectral projections of the privileged observable R, and (c) L(R,e) is picked out by R and e alone. In (...)
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  • Essai philosophique sur les probabilités.Pierre-Simon Laplace & Maurice Solovine - 1814 - Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale 30 (1):1-2.
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  • The World of Mathematics.James Newman - 1956
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  • The Dappled World: A Study of the Boundaries of Science.Nancy Cartwright - 1999 - Philosophy 75 (294):613-616.
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  • Deterministic versus indeterministic descriptions: Not that different after all?Charlotte Werndl - 2009 - In Alexander Hieke & Hannes Leitgeb (eds.), Reduction, Abstraction, Analysis. Ontos. pp. 63-78.
    The guiding question of this paper is: how similar are deterministic descriptions and indeterministic descriptions from a predictive viewpoint? The deterministic and indeterministic descriptions of concern in this paper are measure-theoretic deterministic systems and stochastic processes, respectively. I will explain intuitively some mathematical results which show that measure-theoretic deterministic systems and stochastic processes give more often the same predictions than one might perhaps have expected, and hence that from a predictive viewpoint these descriptions are quite similar.
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  • Probability in Everettian Quantum Mechanics.Peter J. Lewis - 2010 - Manuscrito 33 (1):285--306.
    The main difficulty facing no-collapse theories of quantum mechanics in the Everettian tradition concerns the role of probability within a theory in which every possible outcome of a measurement actually occurs. The problem is two-fold: First, what do probability claims mean within such a theory? Second, what ensures that the probabilities attached to measurement outcomes match those of standard quantum mechanics? Deutsch has recently proposed a decision-theoretic solution to the second problem, according to which agents are rationally required to weight (...)
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  • Evolutionary theory and the reality of macro probabilities.Elliott Sober - 2010 - In Ellery Eells & James H. Fetzer (eds.), The Place of Probability in Science. Springer. pp. 133--60.
    Evolutionary theory is awash with probabilities. For example, natural selection is said to occur when there is variation in fitness, and fitness is standardly decomposed into two components, viability and fertility, each of which is understood probabilistically. With respect to viability, a fertilized egg is said to have a certain chance of surviving to reproductive age; with respect to fertility, an adult is said to have an expected number of offspring.1 There is more to evolutionary theory than the theory of (...)
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  • Probability, Statistics and Truth.Richard von Mises & Hilda Geiringer - 1959 - Philosophy of Science 26 (4):387-388.
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  • Quantum Theory and Measurement.John Archibald Wheeler & Wojciech Hubert Zurek - 1985 - Philosophy of Science 52 (3):480-481.
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  • Wahrscheinlichkeitslehre.Hans Reichenbach - 1936 - Mind 45 (180):501-514.
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  • A World of Propensities.Karl R. Popper - 1991 - Philosophy 66 (257):392-394.
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  • The Matter of Chance.D. H. Mellor - 1975 - Philosophy 50 (192):244-246.
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  • Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity: Metaphysical Intimations of Modern Physics.Tim Maudlin - 1997 - Noûs 31 (4):557-568.
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  • The Nature of Physical Reality.H. Margenau - 1951 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 2 (5):81-81.
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  • A Treatise on Probability.J. M. Keynes - 1989 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 40 (2):219-222.
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  • The Structure and Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.R. I. G. Hughes - 1992 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 54 (4):735-736.
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  • Aspects of determinism in modern physics.John Earman - 2007 - In .
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