Kitcher's Explanatory Unification, Kaluza-Klein Theories, and the Normative Aspect of Higher Dimensional Unification in Physics
BRITISH JOURNAL FOR THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, cilt.63, sa.2, ss.287-312, 2012 (SCI-Expanded, AHCI, SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 63 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2012
- Doi Numarası: 10.1093/bjps/axr033
- Dergi Adı: BRITISH JOURNAL FOR THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.287-312
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
I examine the relation between explanation and unification in both the original Kaluza-Klein theory, which originated in the works of Theodor Kaluza and Oskar Klein in the 1920s, and in the modern Kaluza-Klein theories which date back to the late 1970s and which are still considered by the majority of the physics community to be the best hope for a complete unified theory of all fundamental interactions. I use the conclusions of this case study to assess the merits of Philip Kitcher's account of explanation as unification. I also draw lessons about physicists' pursuit of the higher dimensional unification of the fundamental forces of nature.