Explaining Chaos

A clear and accessible discussion of the ideas and issues behind chaotic dynamics.

Peter Smith (Author)

9780521477475, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 September 1998

204 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.1 cm, 0.29 kg

' … attractively written and should be accessible to many without advanced mathematical ability, it is a book for readers who are interested in what we mean by scientific understanding and in what confidence we can place in the statements of science.' Contemporary Physics

Chaotic dynamics has been hailed as the third great scientific revolution in physics this century, comparable to relativity and quantum mechanics. In this book, Peter Smith takes a cool, critical look at such claims. He cuts through the hype and rhetoric by explaining some of the basic mathematical ideas in a clear and accessible way, and by carefully discussing the methodological issues which arise. In particular, he explores the new kinds of explanation of empirical phenomena which modern dynamics can deliver. Explaining Chaos will be compulsory reading for philosophers of science and for anyone who has wondered about the conceptual foundations of chaos theory.

1. Chaos introduced
2. Fractal intricacy
3. Intricacy and simplicity
4. Predictions
5. Approximate truth
6. Universality
7. Explanation
8. Worldly chaos
9. Randomness
10. Defining chaos.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]