Physics and Necessity

by Olivier Darrigol

Can we prove the necessity of our best physical theories by rational means, without appeal to experience? This book recounts a few ingenious attempts to derive physical theories by reason only, beginning with Descartes' geometric construction of the world, and finishing with recent derivations of quantum mechanics from natural axioms. Deductions based on theological, metaphysical, or transcendental arguments are worth remembering for the ways they...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019871288X
• ISBN13: 9780198712886
• Release Date: July 2014
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 418 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.9"