Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome | |||
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Natural Constants, philosophy: Natural constants or physical constants are quantities whose value is unchangeable as opposed to changes in space and time. Physical constants are usually stated as a quotient, that is, a ratio of two quantities with respective units of measure._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
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Hartry Field on Natural Constants - Dictionary of Arguments
III 43 Constants of nature/causation/explanation / Field: it only seems as if we needed real numbers to explain E.g. the lunar orbit. - But numbers have no causal role. >Extrinsic explanation, >Causal role. The constant of nature plays a very different role in the explanation than e.g. an electron. - The synthetic theory explains the equivalence of extrinsic and intrinsic explanation. >Intrinsic, >Extrinsic, >Natural constants, >Explanation, >Syntheticity._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Field I H. Field Realism, Mathematics and Modality Oxford New York 1989 Field II H. Field Truth and the Absence of Fact Oxford New York 2001 Field III H. Field Science without numbers Princeton New Jersey 1980 Field IV Hartry Field "Realism and Relativism", The Journal of Philosophy, 76 (1982), pp. 553-67 In Theories of Truth, Paul Horwich, Aldershot 1994 |