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Universality Reduced

Franklin, Alexander (2018) Universality Reduced. In: UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

The universality of critical phenomena is best explained by appeal to the Renormalisation Group (RG). Batterman and Morrison, among others, have claimed that this explanation is irreducible. I argue that the RG account is reducible, but that the higher-level explanation ought not to be eliminated. I demonstrate that the key assumption on which the explanation relies – the scale invariance of critical systems – can be explained in lower-level terms; however, we should not replace the RG explanation with a bottom-up account, rather we should acknowledge that the explanation appeals to dependencies which may be traced down to lower levels.


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Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Franklin, Alexanderalexander.a.franklin@kcl.ac.uk0000-0001-6034-4575
Keywords: Universality, Reduction, Emergence, Renormalization, Phase Transition
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Condensed Matter
General Issues > Explanation
General Issues > Models and Idealization
Specific Sciences > Physics
General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User: Dr Alexander Franklin
Date Deposited: 26 Oct 2018 20:45
Last Modified: 26 Oct 2018 20:45
Item ID: 15197
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Condensed Matter
General Issues > Explanation
General Issues > Models and Idealization
Specific Sciences > Physics
General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date: 26 October 2018
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/15197

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