Has Chaos Been Explained?
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Reference
Jeffrey Koperski: Has Chaos Been Explained? In: Brit. J. Phil. Sci. 52 (2001), 683-700.
DOI
Abstract
In his recent book, Explaining Chaos, Peter Smith presents a new problem in the foundations of chaos theory. Speci®cally, he argues that the standard ways of justifying idealizations in mathematical models fail when it comes to the in®nite intricacy found in strange attractors. I argue that Smith's analysis undermines much of the explanatory power of chaos theory. A better approach is developed by drawing analogies from the models found in continuum mechanics.
Extended Abstract
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Used References
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