Probability in Physics

What is the role and meaning of probability in physical theory, in particular in two of the most successful theories of our age, quantum physics and statistical mechanics? Laws once conceived as universal and deterministic, such as Newton‘s laws of motion, or the second law of thermodynamics, are replaced in these theories by inherently probabilistic laws. This collection of essays by some of the world‘s foremost experts presents an in-depth analysis of the meaning of probability in contemporary physics. Among the questions addressed are: How are probabilities defined? Are they objective or subjective? What is their explanatory value? What are the differences between quantum and classical probabilities? The result is an informative and thought-provoking book for the scientifically inquisitive.

Yemima Ben-Menahem is professor of philosophy at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has written extensively on the philosophy of science and is author of Conventionalism (Cambridge University Press). Meir Hemmo is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa. He has written extensively on the foundations of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics and is co-author (with Orly Shenker) of The Road to Maxwell’s Demon (forthcoming in Cambridge University of Press).