What counts as a Newtonian system? The view from Norton's dome
European Journal for Philosophy of Science 2 (3):275-297 (2012)
| Abstract | If the force on a particle fails to satisfy a Lipschitz condition at a point, it relaxes one of the conditions necessary for a locally unique solution to the particle’s equation of motion. I examine the most discussed example of this failure of determinism in classical mechanics—that of Norton’s dome—and the range of current objections against it. Finding there are many different conceptions of classical mechanics appropriate and useful for different purposes, I argue that no single conception is preferred. Instead of arguing for or against determinism, I stress the wide variety of pragmatic considerations that, in a specific context, may lead one usefully and legitimately to adopt one conception over another in which determinism may or may not hold | |||||||||
| Keywords | Determinism Classical mechanics Newtonian mechanics Pluralism Pragmatism | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,875 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesJohn Norton (2000). What Is a Newtonian System? The Failure of Energy Conservation and Determinism in Supertasks. Synthese 124 (2):281 - 293.
J. S. Alper, M. Bridger, J. Earman & J. D. Norton (2000). What is a Newtonian System? The Failure of Energy Conservation and Determinism in Supertasks. Synthese 124 (2):281-293.
David Malament (2008). Norton's Slippery Slope. Philosophy of Science 75 (5):799-816.
Toshio Ishigaki (1995). A Formal System for Classical Particle Mechanics, its Model-Theoretic Applications and Space-Time Structure. Synthese 102 (2):267 - 292.
Alexandre Korolev (2007). Indeterminism, Asymptotic Reasoning, and Time Irreversibility in Classical Physics. Philosophy of Science 74 (5):943-956.
Chunghyoung Lee (2013). The Staccato Roller Coaster: A Simple Physical Model of the Staccato Run. Synthese 190 (3):549-562.
Ardnés Rivadulla (2004). The Newtonian Limit of Relativity Theory and the Rationality of Theory Change. Synthese 141 (3):417 - 429.
Valia Allori, Detlef Duerr, Nino Zanghi & Sheldon Goldstein (2002). Seven Steps Toward the Classical World. Journal of Optics B 4:482–488.
John Norton (2008). The Dome: An Unexpectedly Simple Failure of Determinism. Philosophy of Science 75 (5):786-798.
Mark Wilson (2009). Determinism and the Mystery of the Missing Physics. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 60 (1):173-193.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-09-25Total downloads43 ( #26,736 of 556,895 )Recent downloads (6 months)8 ( #9,676 of 556,895 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
