Chen, Eddy Keming (2020) The Past Hypothesis and the Nature of Physical Laws. [Preprint]

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Abstract

If the Past Hypothesis underlies the arrows of time, what is the status of the Past Hypothesis? In this paper, I examine the role of the Past Hypothesis in the Boltzmannian account and defend the view that the Past Hypothesis is a candidate fundamental law of nature. Such a view is known to be compatible with Humeanism about laws, but as I argue it is also supported by a minimal non-Humean "governing" view. Some worries arise from the non-dynamical and time-dependent character of the Past Hypothesis as a boundary condition, the intrinsic vagueness in its specification, and the nature of the initial probability distribution. I show that these worries do not have much force, and in any case they become less relevant in a new quantum framework for analyzing time's arrows--the Wentaculus. Hence, both Humeans and minimalist non-Humeans should embrace the view that the Past Hypothesis is a candidate fundamental law of nature and welcome its ramifications for other parts of philosophy of science.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Chen, Eddy Keming eddykemingchen@ucsd.edu 0000-0001-5144-0952
Additional Information:	Forthcoming in Barry Loewer, Eric Winsberg, and Brad Weslake (eds.), Time's Arrows and the Probability Structure of the World, Harvard University Press
Keywords:	time's arrow, counterfactuals, laws of nature, vagueness, objective probabilities, typicality, scientific explanation, Past Hypothesis, Statistical Postulate, Humeanism, non-Humeanism, minimal primitivism, the Mentaculus, the Wentaculus, quantum statistical mechanics, density matrix realism
Subjects:	General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User:	Dr. Eddy Keming Chen
Date Deposited:	03 Aug 2020 15:07
Last Modified:	03 Aug 2020 15:07
Item ID:	17691
Subjects:	General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date:	August 2020
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17691

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• The Past Hypothesis and the Nature of Physical Laws. (deposited 03 Aug 2020 15:07) [Currently Displayed]
  • The Past Hypothesis and the Nature of Physical Laws. (deposited 19 Sep 2020 11:11)

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