14 found
Order:
  1.  89
    Physics, Structure, and Reality.Jill North - 2021 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Jill North offers answers to questions at the heart of the project of interpreting physics. How do we figure out the nature of the world from a mathematically formulated theory? What do we infer about the world when a physical theory can be mathematically formulated in different ways? The notion of structure is crucial to North's answers.
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   14 citations  
  2. The ’Structure’ of Physics.Jill North - 2009 - Journal of Philosophy 106 (2):57–88.
    We are used to talking about the “structure” posited by a given theory of physics, such as the spacetime structure of relativity. What is “structure”? What does the mathematical structure used to formulate a theory tell us about the physical world according to the theory? What if there are different mathematical formulations of a given theory? Do different formulations posit different structures, or are they merely notational variants? I consider the case of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian classical mechanics. I argue that, (...)
    Direct download (5 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   91 citations  
  3. The Structure of a Quantum World.Jill North - 2013 - In Alyssa Ney & David Albert (eds.), The Wave Function: Essays on the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics. , US: Oxford University Press USA. pp. 184-202.
    I argue that the fundamental space of a quantum mechanical world is the wavefunction's space. I argue for this using some very general principles that guide our inferences to the fundamental nature of a world, for any fundamental physical theory. I suggest that ordinary three-dimensional space exists in such a world, but is non-fundamental; it emerges from the fundamental space of the wavefunction.
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   63 citations  
  4. A new approach to the relational‐substantival debate.Jill North - 2018 - Oxford Studies in Metaphysics 11:3-43.
    We should see the debate over the existence of spacetime as a debate about the fundamentality of spatiotemporal structure to the physical world. This is a non-traditional conception of the debate, which captures the spirit of the traditional one. At the same time, it clarifies the point of contention between opposing views and offsets worries that the dispute is stagnant or non-substantive. It also unearths a novel argument for substantivalism, given current physics. Even so, that conclusion can be overridden by (...)
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   18 citations  
  5. Time in Thermodynamics.Jill North - 2011 - In Craig Callender (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Time. Oxford University Press. pp. 312--350.
    Or better: time asymmetry in thermodynamics. Better still: time asymmetry in thermodynamic phenomena. “Time in thermodynamics” misleadingly suggests that thermodynamics will tell us about the fundamental nature of time. But we don’t think that thermodynamics is a fundamental theory. It is a theory of macroscopic behavior, often called a “phenomenological science.” And to the extent that physics can tell us about the fundamental features of the world, including such things as the nature of time, we generally think that only fundamental (...)
    Direct download (4 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   37 citations  
  6. An empirical approach to symmetry and probability.Jill North - 2010 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 41 (1):27-40.
    We often use symmetries to infer outcomes’ probabilities, as when we infer that each side of a fair coin is equally likely to come up on a given toss. Why are these inferences successful? I argue against answering this with an a priori indifference principle. Reasons to reject that principle are familiar, yet instructive. They point to a new, empirical explanation for the success of our probabilistic predictions. This has implications for indifference reasoning in general. I argue that a priori (...)
    Direct download (6 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   21 citations  
  7. Two Views on Time Reversal.Jill North - 2008 - Philosophy of Science 75 (2):201-223.
    In a recent paper, Malament (2004) employs a time reversal transformation that differs from the standard one, without explicitly arguing for it. This is a new and important understanding of time reversal that deserves arguing for in its own right. I argue that it improves upon the standard one. Recent discussion has focused on whether velocities should undergo a time reversal operation. I address a prior question: What is the proper notion of time reversal? This is important, for it will (...)
    Direct download (9 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   23 citations  
  8.  76
    What is the Problem about the Time‐Asymmetry of Thermodynamics?—A Reply to Price.Jill North - 2002 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 53 (1):121-136.
    Huw Price argues that there are two conceptions of the puzzle of the time‐asymmetry of thermodynamics. He thinks this puzzle has remained unsolved for so long partly due to a misunderstanding about which of these conceptions is the right one and what form a solution ought to take. I argue that it is Price's understanding of the problem which is mistaken. Further, it is on the basis of this and other misunderstandings that he disparages a type of account which does, (...)
    Direct download (10 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   16 citations  
  9. Understanding the Time‐Asymmetry of Radiation.Jill North - 2003 - Philosophy of Science 70 (5):1086-1097.
    I discuss the nature of the puzzle about the time‐asymmetry of radiation and argue that its most common formulation is flawed. As a result, many proposed solutions fail to solve the real problem. I discuss a recent proposal of Mathias Frisch as an example of the tendency to address the wrong problem. I go on to suggest that the asymmetry of radiation, like the asymmetry of thermodynamics, results from the initial state of the universe.
    Direct download (12 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   15 citations  
  10. Author Meets Critics: Jill North, Physics, Structure, and Reality.David John Baker, Wayne Myrvold, Jill North & Laura Ruetsche - manuscript
    Comments and replies from the 2021 Eastern APA book symposium on Jill North's Physics, Structure, and Reality.
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  11. Geometric Possibility. [REVIEW]Jill North - 2013 - Philosophical Review 122 (3):522-525.
  12.  43
    Review of Max Jammer, Concepts of Simultaneity: From Antiquity to Einstein and Beyond. [REVIEW]Jill North - 2008 - American Scientist 96 (1).
    Max Jammer’s recent book, Concepts of Simultaneity: From Antiquity to Einstein and Beyond, traces the history of our ideas on simultaneity as they evolved alongside sweeping changes in our understanding of physics. One of the interesting lessons of the book is that, even as our physical theories have become increasingly successful, the question of the proper understanding or interpretation of those theories remains extremely puzzling. The central issue is this: Is the simultaneity of events a real feature of the world? (...)
    Direct download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  13. Book Review. Concepts of Simultaneity: From Antiquity to Einstein and Beyond. Max Jammer. [REVIEW]Jill North - 2008 - American Scienctist 98 (1).
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  14.  36
    Mathias Frisch, Inconsistency, Asymmetry, and Non‐locality: A Philosophical Investigation of Classical Electrodynamics. Oxford: Oxford University Press , 222 pp., $49.95. [REVIEW]Jill North - 2007 - Philosophy of Science 74 (4):555-558.
    This book is a stimulating and engaging discussion of philosophical issues in the foundations of classical electromagnetism. In the rst half, Frisch argues against the standard conception of the theory as consistent and local. The second half is devoted to the puzzle of the arrow of radiation: the fact that waves behave asymmetrically in time, though the laws governing their evolution are temporally symmetric. The book is worthwhile for anyone interested in understanding the physical theory of electromagnetism, as well for (...)
    Direct download (6 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark