Philosophy and the Foundations of Dynamics

Description

Although now replaced by more modern theories, classical mechanics remains a core foundational element of physical theory. From its inception, the theory of dynamics has been riddled with conceptual issues and differing philosophical interpretations and throughout its long historical development, it has shown subtle conceptual refinement. The interpretive program for the theory has also shown deep evolutionary change over time. Lawrence Sklar discusses crucial issues in the central theory from which contemporary foundational theories are derived and shows how some core issues (the nature of force, the place of absolute reference frames) have nevertheless remained deep puzzles despite the increasingly sophisticated understanding of the theory which has been acquired over time. His book will be of great interest to philosophers of science, philosophers in general and physicists concerned with foundational interpretive issues in their field Content: 1. Introduction 2. The pre-history of classical dynamics 3. The astronomical revolution 4. Precursors to Newtonian dynamics 5. The Newtonian synthesis 6. Philosophical aspects of the Newtonian synthesis 7. The history of statics 8. The development of dynamics after Newton 9. The 'Newtonian' approach after Newton 10. From virtual work to Lagrange's equation 11. Extremal principles 12. Some philosophical reflections on explanation and theory 13. Conservation principles 14. Hamilton's equations 15. Canonical transformations, optical analogies and algebraic structures 16. The search for new foundations 17. New directions in the applications of dynamics 18. Spacetime formulations of Newtonian dynamics 19. Formalizations: mass and force 20. Relationist dynamics 21. Modes of explanation 22. Retrospective and conclusions.