Wolf, William J. and Thebault, Karim P Y (2023) Explanatory Depth in Primordial Cosmology: A Comparative Study of Inflationary and Bouncing Paradigms.
 | There is a more recent version of this item available. |
|
Text
ExplanatoryDepthCosmologyAccepted.pdf - Accepted Version Download (411kB) | Preview |
Abstract
We develop and apply a multi-dimensional conception of explanatory depth towards a comparative analysis of inflationary and bouncing paradigms in primordial cosmology. Our analysis builds on earlier work due to Azhar and Loeb (2021) that establishes initial condition fine-tuning as a dimension of explanatory depth relevant to debates in contemporary cosmology. We propose dynamical fine-tuning and autonomy as two further dimensions of depth in the context of problems with instability and trans-Planckian modes that afflict bouncing and inflationary approaches respectively. In the context of the latter issue, we argue that the recently formulated trans-Planckian censorship conjecture leads to a trade-off for inflationary models between dynamical fine-tuning and autonomy. We conclude with the suggestion that explanatory preference with regard to the different dimensions of depth is best understood in terms of differing attitudes towards heuristics for future model building.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
|||||||||
| Additional Information: | Forthcoming in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. | |||||||||
| Keywords: | Cosmology, Explanation, Fine-tuning, Inflation, Bouncing Cosmology, Hot Big Bang Model | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
|||||||||
| Depositing User: | Harrison Payne | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 04 Apr 2023 18:35 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 04 Apr 2023 20:58 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 21969 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
|||||||||
| Date: | 15 March 2023 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21969 |
Available Versions of this Item
-
Explanatory Depth in Primordial Cosmology: A Comparative Study of Inflationary and Bouncing Paradigms. (deposited 24 Oct 2022 17:05)
- Explanatory Depth in Primordial Cosmology: A Comparative Study of Inflationary and Bouncing Paradigms. (deposited 04 Apr 2023 18:35) [Currently Displayed]
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}