An edition of A Philosophical Approach to MOND (2020)

A Philosophical Approach to MOND

Assessing the Milgromian Research Program in Cosmology

  • 0 Ratings
  • 4 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read
Not in Library

My Reading Lists:

Create a new list

Check-In

×Close
Add an optional check-in date. Check-in dates are used to track yearly reading goals.
Today

  • 0 Ratings
  • 4 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Buy this book

January 22, 2023 | History
An edition of A Philosophical Approach to MOND (2020)

A Philosophical Approach to MOND

Assessing the Milgromian Research Program in Cosmology

  • 0 Ratings
  • 4 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Dark matter is a fundamental component of the standard cosmological model, but in spite of four decades of increasingly sensitive searches, no-one has yet detected a single dark matter particle in the laboratory. An alternative cosmological paradigm exists: MOND (MOdified Newtonian Dynamics). Observations explained in the standard model by postulating dark matter are explained in MOND by proposing a modification of Newton’s laws of motion. Both MOND and the standard model have had successes and failures – but only MOND has repeatedly predicted observational facts in advance of their discovery. In this volume, David Merritt outlines why such predictions are considered by many philosophers of science to be the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to judging a theory’s validity. In a world where the standard model receives most attention, the author applies criteria from the philosophy of science to assess, in a systematic way, the viability of this alternative cosmological paradigm.

“This book gives a very careful analysis of the relation of theory to observational confirmation in astrophysics and cosmology, using as a case study the succession of MOND models proposed by Milgrom. Using Lakatos’s approach, which is contrasted with Popper’s proposals, the book focuses with exemplary clarity on the question of to what extent theories can be taken to be validated by observational tests. This is a great contribution to the philosophy of cosmology, which will also make the reader appreciate the strength of Milgrom’s theory in terms of having, in advance, made predictions which were subsequently confirmed.”
GEORGE F. R. ELLIS, University of Cape Town

“Merritt’s take on dark matter is as thorough as it is illuminating. It is rare to find arguments so rigorous on both the scientific and philosophical sides, while still being eminently readable... The book is extremely well structured … I think that everyone who has a research interest in astrophysics and cosmology will benefit from reading this book. And I think that physics would much benefit from a similar analysis of inflation and other hypotheses for the early universe, quantum gravity, theories of everything and grand unification, and quantum foundations.'' Sabine Hossenfelder, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies
SABINE HOSSENFELDER, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies

“David Merritt, in an excellent well-written discussion, considers MOND, an alternative to dark matter, in terms of the ideas of Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos. In assessing a scientific theory, Popper emphasized falsification over verification, but in practice a theory may grow in content through a ‘research program.’ This growth is judged to be progressive if it successfully predicts new phenomena not related to those the theory was designed to explain. Merritt traces the MOND research program through various stages, pointing out numerous progressive successes. The point is that MOND is essentially predictive; the standard theory, dark matter, is essentially reactive.”
ROBERT H. SANDERS, University of Groningen

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
282

Buy this book

Edition Availability
Cover of: Philosophical Approach to MOND
Cover of: A Philosophical Approach to MOND
A Philosophical Approach to MOND: Assessing the Milgromian Research Program in Cosmology
2020, Cambridge University Press
Hardcover in English
Cover of: Philosophical Approach to MOND
Philosophical Approach to MOND
2020, Cambridge University Press
in English

Add another edition?

Book Details


Published in

Cambridge, England

Table of Contents

Preface. Page ix
Chapter 1. The epistemology of science Page 1
Chapter 2. The methodology of scientific research programs Page 20
Chapter 3. The Milgromian research program Page 43
Chapter 4. Theory variant T0: the foundational postulates Page 54
Chapter 5. Theory variant T1: a non-relativistic Lagrangian Page 82
Chapter 6. Theory variant T2: a relativistic theory Page 117
Chapter 7. Theory variant T3: a modified hard core Page 181
Chapter 8. Convergence Page 204
Chapter 9. Summary / final thoughts Page 223
References. 237
Index. 265

Edition Notes

Winner of the 2021 PROSE Award of the Association of American Publishers, for the best scholarly publication in physical sciences or mathematics.

Series
History and Philosophy of Physics and Astronomy
Copyright Date
2020

Classifications

Library of Congress
QB981.M475 2020

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Pagination
xiv, 268p.
Number of pages
282

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL27929169M
ISBN 13
9781108492690

Community Reviews (0)

Feedback?
No community reviews have been submitted for this work.

Lists

This work does not appear on any lists.

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
January 22, 2023 Edited by Gustav-Landauer-Bibliothek Witten person
December 26, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 26, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
May 27, 2020 Edited by ImreLakatos Edited without comment.
March 19, 2020 Created by ImreLakatos Added new book.