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Harvard University Press eBooks

The Probability Map of the Universe

Published Nov 9, 2022• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

David Albert’s 2000 book Time and Chance attempts to account for some of the most intractable problems in theoretical physics, in particular those arising from the direction of time. This collection assembles essays exploring and debating Albert’s ideas, now recognized as among the most important recent contributions to the philosophy of science.

DOI
10.4159/9780674287716

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David Albert’s 2000 book Time and Chance attempts to account for some of the most intractable problems in theoretical physics, in particular those arising from the direction of time. This collection assembles essays exploring and debating Albert’s ideas, now recognized as among the most important recent contributions to the philosophy of science.
This collection of essays by leading philosophers of physics was first published in 2000, and offers philosophical perspectives on two of the central elements of modern physics, quantum theory and relativity. The topics examined include the notorious 'measurement problem' of quantum theory and the attempts to solve it by attributing extra values to physical quantities, the mysterious non-locality of quantum theory, the curious properties of spatial localization in relativistic quantum theories, and the problem of time in the search for a theory of quantum gravity. Together the essays represent some of the last decade's research in philosophy of physics, particularly interestingly within the philosophy of quantum theory.
The Past Hypothesis defended by David Wallace in his 2011 account of macroscopic irreversibility is technically distinct from, but in the same spirit as, that of David Albert in his 2000 book Time and Chance. I am concerned in this essay with the role of objective probability in both accounts, which I find obscure. Most of the analysis will be devoted to the classical treatments by both authors, but a final section will question whether Wallace's quantum version involving unitary dynamics removes this obscurity.
This book examines in detail two of the fundamental questions raised by quantum mechanics. Is the world indeterministic? Are there connections between spatially separated objects? In the first part of the book after outlining the formalism of quantum mechanics and introducing the measurement problem, the author examines several interpretations, focusing on how each proposes to solve the measurement problem and on how each treats probability. In the second part, the author argues that there can be non-trivial relationships between probability (specifically, determinism and indeterminism) and non-locality in an interpretation of quantum mechanics. The author then re-examines some of the interpretations of part one of the book in the light of this argument, and considers how they are with regard to locality and Lorentz invariance. One of the important lessons that comes out of this discussion is that any examination of locality, and of the relationship between quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, should be undertaken in the context of a detailed interpretation of quantum mechanics. The book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the interpretation of quantum mechanics, including researchers in the philosophy of physics and theoretical physics, as well as graduate students in those fields.
The book focuses on the epistemological and foundational dimension of the thought of Albert Einstein, who devoted some deep – but largely underrated – papers to the analysis of crucial issues in the philosophy of science. The analysis of the Einsteinian texts is then compared to his view of physical thought and also to some open problems in the epistemological foundations of quantum mechanics, a theory that Einstein contributed to construct but toward which he always manifested a deeply critical stance by the conceptual point of view.
Foundational issues in statistical mechanics and the more general question of how probability is to be understood in the context of physical theories are both areas that have been neglected by philosophers of physics. This book fills an important gap in the literature by providing a most systematic study of how to interpret probabilistic assertions in the context of statistical mechanics. The book explores both subjectivist and objectivist accounts of probability, and takes full measure of work in the foundations of probability theory, in statistical mechanics, and in mathematical theory. It will be of particular interest to philosophers of science, physicists and mathematicians interested in foundational issues, and also to historians of science.