This paper provides an overview of recent historical research regarding scientifically-informed challenges to the idea that the stars are other suns orbited by other inhabited earths -- an idea that came to be known as "the Plurality of Worlds". Johannes Kepler in the seventeenth century, Jacques Cassini in the eighteenth, and William Whewell in the nineteenth each argued against "pluralism" based on what in their respective times was solid science. Nevertheless, pluralism remained popular despite these and other scientific challenges. This history will be of interest to the astronomical community so that it is better positioned to avoid difficulties should the historical trajectory of pluralism continue, especially as it persists in the popular imagination.
{"title":"The Challenging History of Other Earths","authors":"Christopher M. Graney","doi":"arxiv-2409.11349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.11349","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides an overview of recent historical research regarding\u0000scientifically-informed challenges to the idea that the stars are other suns\u0000orbited by other inhabited earths -- an idea that came to be known as \"the\u0000Plurality of Worlds\". Johannes Kepler in the seventeenth century, Jacques\u0000Cassini in the eighteenth, and William Whewell in the nineteenth each argued\u0000against \"pluralism\" based on what in their respective times was solid science.\u0000Nevertheless, pluralism remained popular despite these and other scientific\u0000challenges. This history will be of interest to the astronomical community so\u0000that it is better positioned to avoid difficulties should the historical\u0000trajectory of pluralism continue, especially as it persists in the popular\u0000imagination.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In his 1616 discourse on the tides, Galileo claimed that diurnal tides occurred in Lisbon, Portugal, bolstering his theory of the tides. Lisbon does not feature such tides, but in an exchange of letters in 1629-1630, Giovanfrancesco Buonamici provided Galileo with information on where such tides could be found. Buonamici referred Galileo to the Regimiento de Navegaci'on of Andr'es Garc'ia de C'espedes, and to the Descrittione di Tutti i Paesi Bassi of Lodovico Guicciardini. Galileo omitted any information on where diurnal tides occurred from his 1632 Dialogue, perhaps unintentionally, leaving him open to criticism. Buonamici's material militates against that criticism.
在 1616 年关于潮汐的论述中,伽利略声称葡萄牙里斯本出现了昼夜潮汐,这支持了他的潮汐理论。里斯本并没有这种潮汐,但在 1629-1630 年的一次书信往来中,乔瓦尼-弗朗切斯科-布奥纳米奇(Giovanfrancesco Buonamici)向伽利略提供了可以在哪里找到这种潮汐的信息。布奥纳米奇让伽利略参考安德里斯-加西亚-德-科斯佩德斯(Andr'es Garc'ia de C'espedes )的《航海指南》(Regimiento de Navegaci'on ofAndr'es Garc'ia de C'espedes ),以及洛多维科-吉恰尔迪尼(Lodovico Guicciardini)的《世界各国地图》(Descrittione di Tutti i Paesi Bassiof)。伽利略在 1632 年的《对话录》中省略了关于日曜石发生地点的任何信息,这也许是无意的,但却使他受到了批评。布奥纳米奇的材料反驳了这种批评。
{"title":"Galileo and Buonamici on the Tides of the Sea: Was Something Omitted from the Dialogue?","authors":"Christopher M. Graney","doi":"arxiv-2409.11331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.11331","url":null,"abstract":"In his 1616 discourse on the tides, Galileo claimed that diurnal tides\u0000occurred in Lisbon, Portugal, bolstering his theory of the tides. Lisbon does\u0000not feature such tides, but in an exchange of letters in 1629-1630,\u0000Giovanfrancesco Buonamici provided Galileo with information on where such tides\u0000could be found. Buonamici referred Galileo to the Regimiento de Navegaci'on of\u0000Andr'es Garc'ia de C'espedes, and to the Descrittione di Tutti i Paesi Bassi\u0000of Lodovico Guicciardini. Galileo omitted any information on where diurnal\u0000tides occurred from his 1632 Dialogue, perhaps unintentionally, leaving him\u0000open to criticism. Buonamici's material militates against that criticism.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"199 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this work we employ the methods of archaeoastronomy to analyze the orientation, possibly astronomical, of numerous groups of chullpa funerary towers, mainly from the 12th to 16th centuries, located in the Lauca River valley of the central Bolivian highlands. Despite their great historical relevance, both regarding the beliefs and funerary customs of the local populations and the characteristics of the landscape in the highlands, little is known about the relationship of these mortuary monuments with the sky. Several authors, from chroniclers of the colonial era to more modern explorers, indicate that the tomb towers of these regions are oriented in such a way that important parts of their structure (in general, the entrances of the chullpas) point towards the sunrise on the eastern horizon, in order to be imbued with the first rays of the Sun. However, the sunrise changes its location noticeably at different times of the year. Given the lack of written information or other forms of original documentation, in order to affirm the use of a systematic orientation, it is necessary to measure a statistically significant number of monuments. We present here the results of the analysis of the precise spatial orientation of the entrances of 80 towers measured in situ during field work in the Lauca River valley. We find that, except for a few, all the buildings have the openings' axes oriented towards the east and within the solar range, between the extreme azimuths of the annual movement of the Sun as it crosses the local horizon, with a notable concentration of entrances that point slightly towards the north of due east. Our work is the first systematic study of the orientations of the chullpa towers of the Lauca River and can provide crucial information to understand the evolution and scope of the chullpa phenomenon in the Bolivian highlands and in the entire surrounding region.
{"title":"Torres funerarias chullpa en el valle del río Lauca: un primer análisis arqueoastronómico","authors":"Alejandro Gangui","doi":"arxiv-2409.10497","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.10497","url":null,"abstract":"In this work we employ the methods of archaeoastronomy to analyze the\u0000orientation, possibly astronomical, of numerous groups of chullpa funerary\u0000towers, mainly from the 12th to 16th centuries, located in the Lauca River\u0000valley of the central Bolivian highlands. Despite their great historical\u0000relevance, both regarding the beliefs and funerary customs of the local\u0000populations and the characteristics of the landscape in the highlands, little\u0000is known about the relationship of these mortuary monuments with the sky.\u0000Several authors, from chroniclers of the colonial era to more modern explorers,\u0000indicate that the tomb towers of these regions are oriented in such a way that\u0000important parts of their structure (in general, the entrances of the chullpas)\u0000point towards the sunrise on the eastern horizon, in order to be imbued with\u0000the first rays of the Sun. However, the sunrise changes its location noticeably\u0000at different times of the year. Given the lack of written information or other\u0000forms of original documentation, in order to affirm the use of a systematic\u0000orientation, it is necessary to measure a statistically significant number of\u0000monuments. We present here the results of the analysis of the precise spatial\u0000orientation of the entrances of 80 towers measured in situ during field work in\u0000the Lauca River valley. We find that, except for a few, all the buildings have\u0000the openings' axes oriented towards the east and within the solar range,\u0000between the extreme azimuths of the annual movement of the Sun as it crosses\u0000the local horizon, with a notable concentration of entrances that point\u0000slightly towards the north of due east. Our work is the first systematic study\u0000of the orientations of the chullpa towers of the Lauca River and can provide\u0000crucial information to understand the evolution and scope of the chullpa\u0000phenomenon in the Bolivian highlands and in the entire surrounding region.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I distinguish between pure self-locating credences and superficially self-locating credences, and argue that there is never any rationally compelling way to assign pure self-locating credences. I first argue that from a practical point of view, pure self-locating credences simply encode our pragmatic goals, and thus pragmatic rationality does not dictate how they must be set. I then use considerations motivated by Bertrand's paradox to argue that the indifference principle and other popular constraints on self-locating credences fail to be a priori principles of epistemic rationality, and I critique some approaches to deriving self-locating credences based on analogies to non-self-locating cases. Finally, I consider the implications of this conclusion for various applications of self-locating probabilities in scientific contexts, arguing that it may undermine certain kinds of reasoning about multiverses, the simulation hypothesis, and Boltzmann brains.
{"title":"Against Self-Location","authors":"Emily Adlam","doi":"arxiv-2409.05259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.05259","url":null,"abstract":"I distinguish between pure self-locating credences and superficially\u0000self-locating credences, and argue that there is never any rationally\u0000compelling way to assign pure self-locating credences. I first argue that from\u0000a practical point of view, pure self-locating credences simply encode our\u0000pragmatic goals, and thus pragmatic rationality does not dictate how they must\u0000be set. I then use considerations motivated by Bertrand's paradox to argue that\u0000the indifference principle and other popular constraints on self-locating\u0000credences fail to be a priori principles of epistemic rationality, and I\u0000critique some approaches to deriving self-locating credences based on analogies\u0000to non-self-locating cases. Finally, I consider the implications of this\u0000conclusion for various applications of self-locating probabilities in\u0000scientific contexts, arguing that it may undermine certain kinds of reasoning\u0000about multiverses, the simulation hypothesis, and Boltzmann brains.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142220750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We take supersymmetry in the Seiberg-Witten theory as a case study of the uses of (super)symmetry arguments in studying the ontology of four-dimensional interacting quantum field theories. Together with a double expansion, supersymmetry is a via media that helps to bridge the gap between the ontologies of an exact quantum field theory and its semi-classical limit. We discuss a class of states that exist at any value of the coupling, and whose properties such as mass, electric and magnetic charges, and spin quantum numbers can be precisely characterised at low energies. The low-energy theory is best presented as a one-dimensional complex manifold, equipped with metric and other structures: namely, the space of low-energy vacua, covered by three open regions that are interpreted as macroscopic phases. We discuss two cases of emergence: the emergence of the low-energy regime and the emergence between models at low energies, thereby highlighting the significance of the topology of the space of vacua for such cases of emergence.
{"title":"Supersymmetry in the Seiberg-Witten Theory: A Window into Quantum Field Theory","authors":"Sanne Vergouwen, Sebastian De Haro","doi":"arxiv-2409.04811","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.04811","url":null,"abstract":"We take supersymmetry in the Seiberg-Witten theory as a case study of the\u0000uses of (super)symmetry arguments in studying the ontology of four-dimensional\u0000interacting quantum field theories. Together with a double expansion,\u0000supersymmetry is a via media that helps to bridge the gap between the\u0000ontologies of an exact quantum field theory and its semi-classical limit. We\u0000discuss a class of states that exist at any value of the coupling, and whose\u0000properties such as mass, electric and magnetic charges, and spin quantum\u0000numbers can be precisely characterised at low energies. The low-energy theory\u0000is best presented as a one-dimensional complex manifold, equipped with metric\u0000and other structures: namely, the space of low-energy vacua, covered by three\u0000open regions that are interpreted as macroscopic phases. We discuss two cases\u0000of emergence: the emergence of the low-energy regime and the emergence between\u0000models at low energies, thereby highlighting the significance of the topology\u0000of the space of vacua for such cases of emergence.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142220623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This brief brochure is intended to present a philosophical theory known as relational materialism. We introduce the postulates and principles of the theory, articulating its ontological and epistemological content using the language of category theory. The identification of any existing entity is primarily characterized by its relational, finite, and non-static nature. Furthermore, we provide a categorical construction of particularities within the relational materialist onto-epistemology. Our objective is to address and transform a specific perspective prevalent in scientific communities into a productive network of philosophical commitments.
{"title":"Category-theoretic formulation of relational materialism","authors":"Bekir Baytaş, Ozan Ekin Derin","doi":"arxiv-2409.02487","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.02487","url":null,"abstract":"This brief brochure is intended to present a philosophical theory known as\u0000relational materialism. We introduce the postulates and principles of the\u0000theory, articulating its ontological and epistemological content using the\u0000language of category theory. The identification of any existing entity is\u0000primarily characterized by its relational, finite, and non-static nature.\u0000Furthermore, we provide a categorical construction of particularities within\u0000the relational materialist onto-epistemology. Our objective is to address and\u0000transform a specific perspective prevalent in scientific communities into a\u0000productive network of philosophical commitments.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142220756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This is a review and statistical analysis of the evidence supporting the existence of a cosmological constant in the early 1990s, before its discovery made with distant supernovae in 1998. The earlier evidence was derived from newly precise measurements of the Universe, including its mass density, the Hubble constant, the age of the oldest stars, the filamentary large-scale structure, and the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background. These measurements created tension for models assuming the cosmological constant was zero. This tension was alleviated by several insightful papers published before 1996, which proposed a cosmological constant that increased the expansion rate. Statistical analysis here shows that the probability of the cosmological constant being zero was demonstrably less than a few percent. Some models identified a best-fit value close to the modern estimate of Omega_Lambda ~ 0.7.
{"title":"Evidence of Dark Energy Prior to its Discovery","authors":"Geoffrey W. Marcy","doi":"arxiv-2408.13427","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2408.13427","url":null,"abstract":"This is a review and statistical analysis of the evidence supporting the\u0000existence of a cosmological constant in the early 1990s, before its discovery\u0000made with distant supernovae in 1998. The earlier evidence was derived from\u0000newly precise measurements of the Universe, including its mass density, the\u0000Hubble constant, the age of the oldest stars, the filamentary large-scale\u0000structure, and the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background. These\u0000measurements created tension for models assuming the cosmological constant was\u0000zero. This tension was alleviated by several insightful papers published before\u00001996, which proposed a cosmological constant that increased the expansion rate.\u0000Statistical analysis here shows that the probability of the cosmological\u0000constant being zero was demonstrably less than a few percent. Some models\u0000identified a best-fit value close to the modern estimate of Omega_Lambda ~ 0.7.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142220751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With special relativity, we seem to be facing a conundrum. It is a very well-tested theory; in this way, the Minkowski spacetime must be "capturing" essential features of space and time. However, its geometry seems to be incompatible with any sort of global notion of time. We might only have local notions of now (present moment) and time flow, at best. In this note, we will explore the possibility that a pretty much global notion of now (and time flow) might be hiding in plain sight in the geometry of the Minkowski spacetime.
{"title":"A note on the notion of now and time flow in special relativity","authors":"Mario Bacelar Valente","doi":"arxiv-2409.04450","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.04450","url":null,"abstract":"With special relativity, we seem to be facing a conundrum. It is a very\u0000well-tested theory; in this way, the Minkowski spacetime must be \"capturing\"\u0000essential features of space and time. However, its geometry seems to be\u0000incompatible with any sort of global notion of time. We might only have local\u0000notions of now (present moment) and time flow, at best. In this note, we will\u0000explore the possibility that a pretty much global notion of now (and time flow)\u0000might be hiding in plain sight in the geometry of the Minkowski spacetime.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142220752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is noticeable consensus among physicists and philosophers that only gauge-invariant quantities can be physically real. However, this insight that physical quantities must be gauge-invariant is not well-reflected in standard approaches to particle physics. For instance, each and every elementary field/particle of the Standard Model fails to be gauge-invariant! The main objective of this paper is to offer an accessible, concise, and convincing analysis of why philosophers and physicists should devote more of their energy to working on gauge-invariant approaches. Correspondingly, the thesis of this paper is that pursuing gauge-invariant approaches has several virtues. For instance, gauge-invariant reformulations allow us to make particle physics consistent with the mathematical framework in which it is formulated. This is illustrated by how mathematical theorems such as Elitzur's theorem, the Gribov ambiguity, and Haag's theorem pose problems for standard approaches but are avoided by gauge-invariant approaches.
{"title":"Motivating Gauge-Invariant Approaches to Particle Physics","authors":"Philipp Berghofer","doi":"arxiv-2408.11705","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2408.11705","url":null,"abstract":"There is noticeable consensus among physicists and philosophers that only\u0000gauge-invariant quantities can be physically real. However, this insight that\u0000physical quantities must be gauge-invariant is not well-reflected in standard\u0000approaches to particle physics. For instance, each and every elementary\u0000field/particle of the Standard Model fails to be gauge-invariant! The main\u0000objective of this paper is to offer an accessible, concise, and convincing\u0000analysis of why philosophers and physicists should devote more of their energy\u0000to working on gauge-invariant approaches. Correspondingly, the thesis of this\u0000paper is that pursuing gauge-invariant approaches has several virtues. For\u0000instance, gauge-invariant reformulations allow us to make particle physics\u0000consistent with the mathematical framework in which it is formulated. This is\u0000illustrated by how mathematical theorems such as Elitzur's theorem, the Gribov\u0000ambiguity, and Haag's theorem pose problems for standard approaches but are\u0000avoided by gauge-invariant approaches.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142220759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Henrique Gomes, Tushar Menon, Oliver Pooley, James Read
We show that the geometric structure of an arbitrary relativistic spacetime can be determined by the transformation groups associated with a collection of privileged coordinate systems.
我们证明,任意相对论时空的几何结构可以由与特权坐标系集合相关的变换群决定。
{"title":"How to Recover Spacetime Structure from Privileged Coordinates","authors":"Henrique Gomes, Tushar Menon, Oliver Pooley, James Read","doi":"arxiv-2408.10674","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2408.10674","url":null,"abstract":"We show that the geometric structure of an arbitrary relativistic spacetime\u0000can be determined by the transformation groups associated with a collection of\u0000privileged coordinate systems.","PeriodicalId":501042,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - History and Philosophy of Physics","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142227313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}