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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science
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The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R6,188
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The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics (Hardcover)
Series: Oxford Handbooks
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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This Oxford Handbook provides an overview of many of the topics
that currently engage philosophers of physics. It surveys new
issues and the problems that have become a focus of attention in
recent years. It also provides up-to-date discussions of the still
very important problems that dominated the field in the past. In
the late 20th Century, the philosophy of physics was largely
focused on orthodox Quantum Mechanics and Relativity Theory. The
measurement problem, the question of the possibility of hidden
variables, and the nature of quantum locality dominated the
literature on the quantum mechanics, whereas questions about
relationalism vs. substantivalism, and issues about
underdetermination of theories dominated the literature on
spacetime. These issues still receive considerable attention from
philosophers, but many have shifted their attentions to other
questions related to quantum mechanics and to spacetime theories.
Quantum field theory has become a major focus, particularly from
the point of view of algebraic foundations. Concurrent with these
trends, there has been a focus on understanding gauge invariance
and symmetries. The philosophy of physics has evolved even further
in recent years with attention being paid to theories that, for the
most part, were largely ignored in the past. For example, the
relationship between thermodynamics and statistical mechanics--once
thought to be a paradigm instance of unproblematic theory
reduction--is now a hotly debated topic. The implicit, and
sometimes explicit, reductionist methodology of both philosophers
and physicists has been severely criticized and attention has now
turned to the explanatory and descriptive roles of
"non-fundamental,'' phenomenological theories. This shift of
attention includes "old'' theories such as classical mechanics,
once deemed to be of little philosophical interest. Furthermore,
some philosophers have become more interested in "less
fundamental'' contemporary physics such as condensed matter theory.
Questions abound with implications for the nature of models,
idealizations, and explanation in physics. This Handbook showcases
all these aspects of this complex and dynamic discipline.
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