On the observational equivalence of continuous-time deterministic and indeterministic descriptions

DOI10.1007/S13194-010-0011-5MaRDI QIDQ693104zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Charlotte Werndl

Publication date 7 December 2012

Published in European Journal for Philosophy of Science (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1310.1620, http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/31093/1/On%20the%20observational%20equivalence%28lsero%29.pdf

zbMATH Keywords

stochastic processesergodic theorydeterminismobservational equivalenceindeterminismclassical physicscontinuous-time descriptions

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General theory of mathematical modeling (00A71) Physics (00A79) Logic in the philosophy of science (03A10)

Abstract: This paper presents and philosophically assesses three types of results on the observational equivalence of continuous-time measure-theoretic deterministic and indeterministic descriptions. The first results establish observational equivalence to abstract mathematical descriptions. The second results are stronger because they show observational equivalence between deterministic and indeterministic descriptions found in science. Here I also discuss Kolmogorov's contribution. For the third results I introduce two new meanings of `observational equivalence at every observation level'. Then I show the even stronger result of observational equivalence at every (and not just some) observation level between deterministic and indeterministic descriptions found in science. These results imply the following. Suppose one wants to find out whether a phenomenon is best modeled as deterministic or indeterministic. Then one cannot appeal to differences in the probability distributions of deterministic and indeterministic descriptions found in science to argue that one of the descriptions is preferable because there is no such difference. Finally, I criticise the extant claims of philosophers and mathematicians on observational equivalence.

Recommendations

• Are deterministic descriptions and indeterministic descriptions observationally equivalent?
• On choosing between deterministic and indeterministic models: underdetermination and indirect evidence
• On two mathematical definitions of observational equivalence: manifest isomorphism and \(\varepsilon\)-congruence reconsidered
• Deterministic Chance?
• Determinacy \(\to\) (observation equivalence \(=\) trace equivalence)

Cites work

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3775877 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3463931 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3799981 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1447424 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3360434 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3085434 (Why is no real title available?)
• A special family of ergodic flows and their d-limits
• Are deterministic descriptions and indeterministic descriptions observationally equivalent?
• Bernoulli Flows with Infinite Entropy
• Billiards and Bernoulli schemes
• Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow
• Ergodic theory of chaos and strange attractors
• In general a measure preserving transformation is mixing
• Kolmogorov's work on ergodic theory
• Measurable transformations
• Nonlinear dynamics and chaos. With applications to physics, biology, chemistry, and engineering
• On Entropy and Generators of Measure-Preserving Transformations
• On choosing between deterministic and indeterministic models: underdetermination and indirect evidence
• Proof of the Boltzmann-Sinai ergodic hypothesis for typical hard disk systems
• Randomness Is Unpredictability
• Statistical properties of chaotic systems
• The Lorenz attractor is mixing
• The ergodic hierarchy, randomness and Hamiltonian chaos
• The noninvariance of deterministic causal models
• What Are the New Implications of Chaos for Unpredictability?

Cited in

(8)

• A letter on the present state of affairs. Prior, indeterminism and relativity 40 years later
• On two mathematical definitions of observational equivalence: manifest isomorphism and \(\varepsilon\)-congruence reconsidered
• Time and determinism
• Are deterministic descriptions and indeterministic descriptions observationally equivalent?
• On choosing between deterministic and indeterministic models: underdetermination and indirect evidence
• Interpretive analogies between quantum and statistical mechanics
• Interpretation neutrality in the classical domain of quantum theory
• On the non-equivalence of observables in phase-space reconstructions from recorded time series

This page was built for publication: On the observational equivalence of continuous-time deterministic and indeterministic descriptions

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q693104)