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StringTheoryandtheScientificMethod Stringtheoryhasplayedahighlyinfluentialroleintheoreticalphysicsfornearlythree decadesandhassubstantiallyalteredourviewoftheelementarybuildingprinciples oftheuniverse.However,thetheoryremainsempiricallyunconfirmed,andisexpectedto remainsofortheforeseeablefuture.Sowhydostringtheoristshavesuchastrong beliefintheirtheory? Thisbookexploresthisquestion,offeringanovelinsightintothenatureoftheory assessmentitself.Dawidapproachesthetopicfromauniqueposition,havingextensive experienceinbothphilosophyandhighenergyphysics.Hearguesthatstringtheoryis justthemostconspicuousexampleofanumberoftheoriesinhighenergyphysicswhere non-empiricaltheoryassessmenthasanimportantparttoplay.Aimedatphysicists andphilosophersofscience,thebookdoesnotusemathematicalformalismand explainsmosttechnicalterms. richard dawid isaPhilosopherofScienceattheUniversityofVienna,andhas aPhDintheoreticalphysics.Hismainresearchinterestsarephilosophicalquestions relatedtocontemporaryhighenergyphysics,aswellasgeneralissuesinthe philosophyofscience. fi String Theory and the Scienti c Method RICHARD DAWID UniversityofVienna cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown, Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity CambridgeUniversityPress TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107029712 ©R.Dawid2013 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2013 PrintedandboundintheUnitedKingdombytheMPGBooksGroup AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata Dawid,Richard,1966– Stringtheoryandthescientificmethod/RichardDawid,UniversityofVienna. pages cm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-1-107-02971-2(hardback) 1. Stringmodels. 2. Science–Methodology. I. Title. QC794.6.S85D39 2013 539.70258–dc23 2012044103 ISBN978-1-107-02971-2Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. ToWalter(1937–2008) Contents Preface pageix Introduction 1 PARTI DELIMITINGTHEUNCONCEIVED 5 1 Stringtheory 9 1.1 Abriefintroductiontostringtheory 9 1.2 Theconflictingassessmentsofthecurrentstatusofstring theory 19 1.3 Threecontextualargumentsfortheviabilityofstringtheory 30 2 Theconceptualframework 39 2.1 Theclassicalparadigmoftheoryassessment 39 2.2 Scientificunderdetermination 44 3 Theassessmentofscientificunderdeterminationin stringtheory 50 3.1 Connectionsbetweentheoryassessmentandscientific underdetermination 50 3.2 Theframeworkforclaimsoflimitationstoscientific underdetermination 59 3.3 Thescopeofthethreearguments 62 3.4 Non-empiricaltheoryassessmentasinferencetothebest explanation 64 3.5 ABayesiananalysis 68 PARTII AWIDERPERSPECTIVE 73 4 Thedynamicsofhighenergyphysics 75 4.1 Twocrucialprinciplesinmodernhighenergyphysics 75 vii viii Contents 4.2 Theorydynamicsbeyondthecurrentlimitsofempirical testability 82 4.3 Theoryassessmentinanewscientificenvironment 94 5 Scientificunderdeterminationinphysicsandbeyond 97 5.1 Themarginalizationofthephenomena 97 5.2 Thequestionofmicrophysicalobjects 103 5.3 Empiricalconfirmationinhighenergyphysics 109 5.4 Non-empiricalassessmentoftheHiggstheory 112 5.5 Theconfirmationofthetopquark 115 5.6 Abriefexcursionintopalaeontology 118 5.7 Anewunderstandingoftheoryassessment 123 PARTIII PHYSICSANDTRUTH 127 6 Finaltheoryclaims 129 6.1 Twofinaltheoryclaimsinstringphysics 129 6.2 Localandgloballimitationstoscientific underdetermination 134 6.3 Structuraluniquenessanditsimpactonthequestionof finality 141 6.4 Theformalstructureoffinaltheoryarguments 147 6.5 Thecaseofanthropicreasoning 149 6.6 Anewconceptionofscientificprogress 152 6.7 Theendofscience? 155 7 Analteredperspectiveonscientificrealism 157 7.1 Thelayoutofthedebate 157 7.2 Unconceivedalternatives 164 7.3 Scientificrealismandnon-empiricaltheoryevaluation 169 7.4 Consistentstructurerealism 174 7.5 Whitherphysicaltheory? 189 References 191 Index 198

String Theory and the Scientific Method PDF

214 Pages·2013·2.211 MB·English

by Richard Dawid

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Author:	Richard Dawid
Publication Year:	2013
ISBN:	9781107029712
Pages:	214
Language:	English
File Size:	2.211
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