The Philosophy of CosmologyKhalil Chamcham, Joseph Silk, John D. Barrow, Simon Saunders Following a long-term international collaboration between leaders in cosmology and the philosophy of science, this volume addresses foundational questions at the limit of science across these disciplines, questions raised by observational and theoretical progress in modern cosmology. Space missions have mapped the Universe up to its early instants, opening up questions on what came before the Big Bang, the nature of space and time, and the quantum origin of the Universe. As the foundational volume of an emerging academic discipline, experts from relevant fields lay out the fundamental problems of contemporary cosmology and explore the routes toward finding possible solutions. Written for graduates and researchers in physics and philosophy, particular efforts are made to inform academics from other fields, as well as the educated public, who wish to understand our modern vision of the Universe, related philosophical questions, and the significant impacts on scientific methodology. |
Contents
Three Problems | 40 |
Moving Boundaries? Comments on the Relationship Between | 66 |
Some Generalities About Generality | 85 |
Emergent Structures of Effective Field Theories | 109 |
Cosmological Structure Formation | 136 |
The Observer Strikes Back | 181 |
Testing Inflation | 206 |
Why Boltzmann Brains do not Fluctuate into Existence from | 228 |
Quantum Origin of Cosmological Structure and Dynamical | 330 |
Towards a Novel Approach to SemiClassical Gravity | 356 |
Limits of Time in Cosmology | 377 |
SelfLocating Priors and Cosmological Measures | 396 |
Inference Beyond Data? | 429 |
David Z Albert is Professor at the Department of Philosophy Columbia University | 445 |
Bayes FineTuning and Typicality | 447 |
A New Perspective on Einsteins Philosophy of Cosmology | 467 |
Holographic Inflation Revised | 241 |
Overcoming Divisions Between General Relativity | 263 |
Is Times Arrow Perspectival? | 285 |
Cosmological Ontology and Epistemology | 317 |
The Nature of the Past Hypothesis | 486 |
Big and Small | 500 |
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The Philosophy of Cosmology Khalil Chamcham,Joseph Silk,John D. Barrow,Simon Saunders Limited preview - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
anthropic approximation assumed assumption baryonic Bayesian Bayesian probability big bang black holes Bohmian Boltzmann Brains Cambridge classical clock collapse consider constraints cosmic cosmological constant cosmological model cosmos credence dark matter dark matter halos decoherence defined degrees of freedom density described dynamics early universe Einstein energy entropy eternal inflation evidence evolution evolving example existence expansion field theory finite FLRW fluctuations fundamental galaxies halos Hamiltonian Hartle Hilbert space homogeneous horizon Hubble Hubble volume infinite inflationary inflaton inhomogeneous initial conditions interactions isotropic laws mass mathematical metric MNRAS multiverse nature observations parameters particle person probabilities perturbations Philosophy Phys physicists physics Planck possible predictions principle prior properties quantum cosmology quantum gravity quantum mechanics quantum theory reason redshift relativity scalar field scale self-locating semi-classical simulations Sitter solution space spacetime spatial star formation steady-state structure symmetry tensor theoretical University Press Uzan vacuum wave function