Hunt, Josh and Carcassi, Gabriele and Aidala, Christine A (2023) Hamiltonian Privilege. [Preprint]

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Abstract

We argue that Hamiltonian mechanics is more fundamental than Lagrangian mechanics. Our argument provides a non-metaphysical strategy for privileging one formulation of a theory over another: ceteris paribus, a more general formulation is more fundamental. We illustrate this criterion through a novel interpretation of classical mechanics, based on three physical conditions. Two of these conditions suffice for recovering Hamiltonian mechanics. A third condition is necessary for Lagrangian mechanics. Hence, Lagrangian systems are a proper subset of Hamiltonian systems. Finally, we provide a geometric interpretation of the principle of stationary action and rebut arguments for privileging Lagrangian mechanics.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Hunt, Josh joshhunt@umich.edu 0000-0001-5150-0388 Carcassi, Gabriele carcassi@umich.edu 0000-0002-1071-6251 Aidala, Christine A caidala@umich.edu 0000-0001-9540-4988
Keywords:	classical mechanics, fundamentality, theoretical equivalence, reverse physics
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Structure of Theories General Issues > Theory Change
Depositing User:	Josh Hunt
Date Deposited:	08 Jun 2023 12:50
Last Modified:	08 Jun 2023 12:50
Item ID:	22202
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Structure of Theories General Issues > Theory Change
Date:	2 June 2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22202

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