Can Conditioning on the “Past Hypothesis” Militate Against the Reversibility Objections
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10706913 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Winsberg (0000-0002-8764-0072, University of South Florida, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 71 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 489-504 |
| Publication date | 2004-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1086/423749 |
| OpenAlex | W2128472794 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 6 |
In his recent book, Time and Chance , David Albert claims that by positing that there is a uniform probability distribution defined, on the standard measure, over the space of microscopic states that are compatible with both the current macrocondition of the world, and with what he calls the “past hypothesis”, we can explain the time asymmetry of all of the thermodynamic behavior in the world. The principal purpose of this paper is to dispute this claim. I argue that Albert's proposal fails in his stated goal—to show how to use the time-reversible dynamics of Newtonian physics to “underwrite the actual content of our thermodynamic experience” (Albert 2000, 159). Albert's proposal can satisfactorily explain why the overall entropy of the universe as a whole is increasing, but it does not and cannot explain the increasing entropy of relatively small, relatively short-lived systems in energetic isolation without making use of a principle that leads to reversibility objections
Economics · Entropy (arrow of time) · Epistemology · Mathematical economics · Physics · Positive economics · Principal (computer security) · Theoretical physics · Thermodynamics · Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics · Computer Science · Philosophy · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Statistical Mechanics and Entropy
The Unity of Science and the Mentaculus
On the Structural Distinction Between Entropy and Time in Dynamical Theories
Global and Local Imperialism in Statistical Mechanics
The Justification of Probability Measures in Statistical Mechanics
The “Past Hypothesis”
Histories, dynamical laws, and initial conditions −Invariance under time-reversibility and its failure in Markov processes, with application to the second law of thermodynamics and the past hypothesis
An empirical approach to symmetry and probability
Laws and chances in statistical mechanics
Is there a reversibility paradox? Recentering the debate on the thermodynamic time arrow
Ceteris Paribus Laws and Minutis Rectis Laws
Time's arrow and self‐locating probability
Memory, the fork asymmetry, and the initial state
Interactionist zombies
How to explain the direction of time
Does the Best System Need the Past Hypothesis
Laws and Statistical Mechanics
The Universe Had One Chance
Fundamentality and Time’s Arrow
Contemporary Approaches to Statistical Mechanical Probabilities
Foundation of statistical mechanics
Introduction to the Philosophy of Statistical Mechanics
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,95 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2026 (23) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |