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SUMMARY:In defence of dimensions - Caspar Jacobs (Merton College\, Oxford)
DTSTART:20230531T120000Z
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UID:TALK200023@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jacob Stegenga
DESCRIPTION:The distinction between dimensions and units in physics is com
 monplace. But what _are_ dimensions? The most popular view is that they ar
 e no more than a tool for keeping track of the values of quantities under 
 a change of units. This 'anti-realist' view is supported by an argument fr
 om underdetermination: one can assign dimensions to quantities in many dif
 ferent ways\, all of them empirically equivalent. In contrast\, I argue th
 at dimensions are real\, so there are knowable matters of fact about a qua
 ntity's dimensions. The argument I provide is a form of inference to the b
 est explanation. In particular\, the technique of dimensional analysis is 
 explanatory\, but it only works if we assume that the relevant quantities 
 have certain dimensions. Since these dimensions support explanations\, we 
 have reason to believe that they are real.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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