Buch, Englisch, 352 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm
Buch, Englisch, 352 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm
ISBN: 978-0-19-892924-6
Verlag: Oxford University Press
Scientific and philosophical inquiry often assumes that systems can be studied in isolation, yet real-world systems are never truly closed. They constantly interact with their environment, exchanging energy, information, and matter. This openness challenges fundamental assumptions about determinism, causality, and emergence, raising profound questions about how we model, explain, and understand the world.
This book brings together leading philosophers and scientists to explore the implications of open systems across physics, metaphysics, and methodology. How do interactions shape the behaviour of physical systems? What are the consequences of idealizing real systems as closed? How does openness affect our understanding of fundamental theories, such as quantum mechanics and statistical physics? And what does it mean for the broader philosophical concepts of reduction, explanation, and emergence?
At the heart of this volume lies the recognition that open systems require a shift in perspective-one that acknowledges the limits of traditional approaches and embraces new ways of thinking about complex, dynamic systems. Through interdisciplinary contributions, the book offers fresh insights into topics such as non-unitary evolution in quantum mechanics, the role of decoherence in the quantum-to-classical transition, and the challenges of modeling open systems in scientific practice.
Written for scholars and students in philosophy and physics, as well as anyone interested in the foundations of science, Open Systems: Physics, Metaphysics, and Methodology invites readers to rethink fundamental concepts in light of the inherent openness of the systems that shape our world.
Weitere Infos & Material
- Introduction
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Part I The Open Systems View
- 1 Quantum Theory is About Open Systems
- 2 The Temporally Open Systems View
- 3 The Relative Nature of Open Quantum Systems
- 4 Quantum Systems Other Than the Universe
- 5 Frameworks in Physics: Abstractness, Generality, And the Role of Metaphysics
- Part II Concepts of Open and Closed Systems in and Beyond Physics
- 6 Newtonian Research and the Open Systems View
- 7 Blackbody Radiation: The Open and Closed Systems Views and Complementary Reasoning Strategies
- 8 Boundaries, Frames, and the Issue of Physical Covariance
- 9 Relational Objectivity in the Presence of Finite Quantum Resources
- 10 Open Systems and Autonomy
- 11 Biological Emergence: A Key Exemplar of the Open Systems View
- Part III The Physics and Metaphysics of Worlds and Universes
- 12 Open Systems as Metaphysically Fundamental: Some Questions
- 13 How Closed is Cosmology?
- 14 Density Matrix Realism
- 15 Conservation Laws in the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
- 16 Quantum Theory: Ideals, Infinities and Pluralities
- 17 Perspective Duality as a Physical Requirement
