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Full-Text Articles in Philosophy of Science
Four Tails Problems For Dynamical Collapse Theories, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Four Tails Problems For Dynamical Collapse Theories, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
The primary quantum mechanical equation of motion entails that measurements typically do not have determinate outcomes, but result in superpositions of all possible outcomes. Dynamical collapse theories (e.g. GRW) supplement this equation with a stochastic Gaussian collapse function, intended to collapse the superposition of outcomes into one outcome. But the Gaussian collapses are imperfect in a way that leaves the superpositions intact. This is the tails problem. There are several ways of making this problem more precise. But many authors dismiss the problem without considering the more severe formulations. Here I distinguish four distinct tails problems. The first (bare tails …
Mass Additivity And A Priori Entailment, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Mass Additivity And A Priori Entailment, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
The principle of mass additivity states that the mass of a composite object is the sum of the masses of its elementary components. Mass additivity is true in Newtonian mechanics but false in special relativity. Physicists have explained why mass additivity is true in Newtonian mechanics by reducing it to Newton’s microphysical laws. This reductive explanation does not fit well with deducibility theories of reductive explanation such as the modern Nagelian theory of reduction, and the a priori entailment theory of reduction that is prominent in the philosophy of mind. Nonetheless, I argue that a reconstruction of the explanation that …