The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the state of the art in the philosophy of physics. It comprisess 54 self-contained chapters written by leading philosophers of physics at both senior and junior levels, making it the most thorough and detailed volume of its type on the market – nearly every major perspective in the field is represented.The Companion’s 54 chapters are organized into 12 parts. The first sevenparts cover all of the major physical theories investigated by philosophers of physics today, and the last five explore key themes that unite the study of these theories.I.Newtonian MechanicsII. Special RelativityIII. General RelativityIV. Non-Relativistic Quantum TheoryV. Quantum Field TheoryVI. Quantum GravityVII. Statistical Mechanics and ThermodynamicsVIII. ExplanationIX. Intertheoretic RelationsX. SymmetriesXI. MetaphysicsXII. CosmologyThe difficulty level of thechapters has been carefully pitched so as to offer both accessible summaries for those new to philosophy of physics and standard reference points for active researchers on the front lines. An introductorychapter by the editors maps out the field, and eachpart also begins with a short summary that places the individual chapters in context. The volume will be indispensable to any serious student or scholar of philosophy of physics.

IntroductionEleanor Knox and Alastair Wilson Section A: Theories Part I: Newtonian MechanicsIntroduction to Part I 1. Newtonian MechanicsRyan Samaroo2. Formulations of Classical MechanicsJill North 3. Classical Spacetime StructureJames Owen Weatherall 4. Relationism in Classical DynamicsJulian Barbour Part II: Special RelativityIntroduction to Part II 5. Relativity and Space-Time GeometryTim Maudlin 6. The Dynamical Approach to Spacetime TheoriesHarvey R. Brown and James Read 7. Relativity and the A-TheoryAntony Eagle 8. Relativistic Constraints on Interpretations of Quantum MechanicsWayne C.Myrvold Part III: General RelativityIntroduction to Part III 9. The Equivalence Principle(s)Dennis Lehmkuhl 10. The Hole ArgumentOliver Pooley 11. Relativistic Spacetime StructureSamuel C. Fletcher Part IV: Non-Relativistic Quantum TheoryIntroduction to Part IV 12. Bell’s Theorem, Quantum Probabilities, and SuperdeterminismEddy Keming Chen 13. Quantum DecoherenceElise M. Crull 14. The Everett Interpretation:StructureSimon W. Saunders 15. The Everett Interpretation: ProbabilitySimon W. Saunders 16. Collapse TheoriesPeter J. Lewis 17. Bohmian MechanicsRoderich Tumulka Part V: Quantum Field TheoryIntroduction to Part V 18. The Quantum Theory of FieldsDavid Wallace 19. Renormalization Group MethodsPorter Williams 20. Locality in (Axiomatic) Quantum Field Theory: A Minority ReportLaura Ruetsche 21. Particles in Quantum Field TheoryDoreen Fraser Part VI: Quantum GravityIntroduction to Part VI 22. The Development of Quantum Gravity: From Feelings to PhenomenaDean Rickles 23. String TheoryRichard Dawid 24. Quantum Gravity from General RelativityChristian Wüthrich 25. Spacetime "Emergence"Nick Huggett 26. The Problem of TimeKarim P.Y. Thébault Part VII: Statistical Mechanicsand ThermodynamicsIntroduction to Part VII 27. Equilibrium in Boltzmannian Statistical MechanicsRoman Frigg and Charlotte Werndl 28. Equilibrium in Gibbsian Statistical MechanicsRoman Frigg and Charlotte Werndl 29. Quantum Foundations of Statistical Mechanics and ThermodynamicsOrly Shenker 30. Entropy AsymmetryArianne Shahvisi Section B: Themes Part VIII: ExplanationIntrodution to Part VIII 31. Causal Explanation in PhysicsMatthias Frisch 32. Non-Causal Explanations in PhysicsJuha Saatsi 33. Mechanistic Explanation in PhysicsLaura Felline 34. The Explanatory Value ofSelecting the Appropriate Scale(s)Lina Jansson Part IX: Intertheoretic RelationsIntroduction to Part IX 35. Nagelian Reduction in PhysicsFoad Dizadji-Bahmani 36. Phase TransitionsSorin Bangu 37. UniversalityRobert W. Batterman38. Chance and DeterminismNina Emery Part X: SymmetriesIntroduction to Part X39. Symmetry and Superfluous Structure: A Metaphysical OverviewShamik Dasgupta 40. Symmetry and Superfluous Structure: Lessons from History and Tempered EnthusiasmJenann Ismael 41. PermutationsAdam Caulton 42. Gauge TheoriesNicholas J. Teh 43. Time ReversalBryan W. Roberts 44. Symmetry BreakingElena Castellani and Radin Dardashti Part XI: MetaphysicsIntroduction to Part XI45. LawsMarc Lange 46. ChanceMauricio Suárez 47. HolismRichard Healey48. DimensionsSusan G. Sterrett 49. FundamentalitySteven French Part XII: CosmologyIntroduction to Part XII 50. Why Is There Something, Rather Than Nothing?Sean M. Carroll 51. Time in CosmologyCraig Callender and Casey McCoy 52. The Fine-Tuning of the Universe for LifeLuke A. Barnes 53. Dark Matter and Dark EnergyMelissa Jacquart 54. Evidence in AstrophysicsSibylle Anderl

Eleanor Knox is Reader in Philosophy of Physics at King’s College London. She works in philosophy of physics, particularly the philosophy of spacetime physics, and is also interested in issues of reduction and emergence, and how these two come together in quantum gravity. Alastair Wilson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and Senior Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University. He works on philosophy of physics, philosophy of science, metaphysics, and epistemology, with special interests in the philosophy of quantum theory and the metaphysics of dependence. He is the author of The Nature of Contingency: Quantum Physics as Modal Realism (2020).