Dorst, Chris (2023) Does the Best System Need the Past Hypothesis? [Preprint]
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Abstract
Many philosophers sympathetic with a Humean understanding of laws of nature have thought that, in the final analysis, the fundamental laws will include not only the traditional dynamical equations, but also two additional principles: the Past Hypothesis and the Statistical Postulate. The former says that the universe began in a particular very-low-entropy macrostate M(0), and the latter posits a uniform probability distribution over the microstates compatible with M(0). Such a view is arguably vindicated by the orthodox Humean Best System Account (BSA). However, I argue here that recent developments of the BSA render the Past Hypothesis otiose. In particular, the trend among Humeans toward a more pragmatic view of laws — according to which the best system is the one that is maximally effective at helping creatures like us amplify our information about the worl — does not support the idea that the Past Hypothesis is a law of nature.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | past hypothesis, best system account, best predictive system account, Humeanism, laws of nature | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Depositing User: | Chris Dorst | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 03 Oct 2023 22:28 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 03 Oct 2023 22:28 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 22618 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Date: | 30 September 2023 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22618 |
Available Versions of this Item
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Does the Best System Need the Past Hypothesis? (deposited 01 Oct 2023 14:05)
- Does the Best System Need the Past Hypothesis? (deposited 03 Oct 2023 22:28) [Currently Displayed]
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