Naturalness, extra-empirical theory assessments, and the implications of skepticism

DOI10.1007/S10701-018-0220-XMaRDI QIDQ2286552zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors James D. Wells

Publication date 22 January 2020

Published in Foundations of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1806.07289, http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/14787/1/arXiv1.pdf

zbMATH Keywords

fine-tuningparticle physicsnaturalness

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Unified quantum theories (81V22)

Abstract: Naturalness is an extra-empirical quality that aims to assess plausibility of a theory. Finetuning measures are often deputized to quantify the task. However, knowing statistical distributions on parameters appears necessary. Such meta-theories are not known yet. A critical discussion of these issues is presented, including their possible resolutions in fixed points. Both agreement to and skepticism of naturalness's utility remains credible, as is skepticism to any extra-empirical theory assessment (SEETA) that claims to identify "more correct" theories that are equally empirically adequate. The severe implications of SEETA are set forward in some detail. We conclude with a summary and discussion of the viability of three main viewpoints toward naturalness and fine-tuning, where the "moderate naturalness position" is suggested to be most appealing, not suffering from the disquietudes of the extreme pro- and anti-naturalness positions.

Recommendations

• Two notions of naturalness
• Which fine-tuning arguments are fine?
• The practice of naturalness: a historical-philosophical perspective
• Why be natural?
• Finetuned cancellations and improbable theories

Cites work

• A clockwork theory
• A supersymmetry primer.
• Naturalness, conformal symmetry, and duality
• Naturalness, the autonomy of scales, and the 125 GeV Higgs

Cited in

(9)

• Too naturalist and not naturalist enough: Reply to Horsten
• On the Emotional Assumptions without Which One Could Not Effectively Investigate the Laws of Nature
• Origins of parameters in adimensional models
• `Oumuamua and meta-empirical confirmation
• Doubts for Dawid's non-empirical theory assessment
• Finetuned cancellations and improbable theories
• Physics beyond the multiverse: naturalness and the quest for a fundamental theory
• Dogmas of effective field theory: scheme dependence, fundamental parameters, and the many faces of the Higgs naturalness principle
• QFT without infinities and hierarchy problem

This page was built for publication: Naturalness, extra-empirical theory assessments, and the implications of skepticism

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2286552)