Can Typicality Arguments Dissolve Cosmology’s Flatness Problem?

Philosophy of Science 84 (5):1239-1252 (2017)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Several physicists, among them Hawking, Page, Coule, and Carroll, have argued against the probabilistic intuitions underlying fine-tuning arguments in cosmology and instead propose that the canonical measure on the phase space of Friedman-Robertson-Walker space-times should be used to evaluate fine-tuning. They claim that flat space-times in this set are actually typical on this natural measure and that therefore the flatness problem is illusory. I argue that they misinterpret typicality in this phase space and, moreover, that no conclusion can be drawn at all about the flatness problem by using the canonical measure alone.

Similar books and articles

In What Sense Is the Early Universe Fine-Tuned?Sean M. Carroll - 2023 - In Barry Loewer, Brad Weslake & Eric B. Winsberg (eds.), The Probability Map of the Universe: Essays on David Albert’s _time and Chance_. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
The fine-tuned universe and the existence of God.Man Ho Chan - 2017 - Dissertation, Hong Kong Baptist University
Does inflation solve the hot big bang model׳s fine-tuning problems?C. D. McCoy - 2015 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 51 (C):23-36.
Should we care about fine-tuning?Jeffrey Koperski - 2005 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 56 (2):303-319.
Anthropic Explanation in Cosmology.Ernan McMullin - 2005 - Faith and Philosophy 22 (5):601-614.
Essentially Ergodic Behaviour.Paula Reichert - 2023 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 74 (1):57-73.
Essentially Ergodic Behaviour.Paula Reichert - 2020 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (online):axaa007.
The Ergodic Hypothesis: A Typicality Statement.Paula Reichert - 2024 - In Angelo Bassi, Sheldon Goldstein, Roderich Tumulka & Nino Zanghi (eds.), Physics and the Nature of Reality: Essays in Memory of Detlef Dürr. Springer. pp. 285-299.

Analytics

Added to PP
2017-12-15

Downloads
396 (#53,025)

6 months
162 (#24,865)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

C. D. McCoy
Yonsei University

Citations of this work

Meta-Empirical Support for Eliminative Reasoning.C. D. McCoy - 2021 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 90:15-29.
Stability in Cosmology, from Einstein to Inflation.C. D. McCoy - 2020 - In Claus Beisbart, Tilman Sauer & Christian Wüthrich (eds.), Thinking About Space and Time: 100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General Relativity. Cham: Birkhäuser. pp. 71-89.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Philosophy of Cosmology.Chris Smeenk - 2013 - In Robert W. Batterman (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics. Oxford University Press USA. pp. 607-652.
In What Sense Is the Early Universe Fine-Tuned?Sean M. Carroll - 2023 - In Barry Loewer, Brad Weslake & Eric B. Winsberg (eds.), The Probability Map of the Universe: Essays on David Albert’s _time and Chance_. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Typicality and Notions of Probability in Physics.Sheldon Goldstein - 2012 - In Yemima Ben-Menahem & Meir Hemmo (eds.), Probability in Physics. Springer. pp. 59--71.

View all 10 references / Add more references