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The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 2004 55(2):195-217; doi:10.1093/bjps/55.2.195
© 2004 by British Society for the Philosophy of Science
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Measures, Explanations and the Past: Should ‘Special’ Initial Conditions be Explained?

Craig Callender

Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, U.S.A.

For the generalizations of thermodynamics to obtain, it appears that a very ‘special’ initial condition of the universe is required. Is this initial condition itself in need of explanation? I argue that it is not. In so doing, I offer a framework in which to think about ‘special’ initial conditions in all areas of science, though I concentrate on the case of thermodynamics. I urge the view that it is not always a serious mark against a theory that it must posit an ‘improbable’ initial condition.

  1. Introduction
  2. Price's objection
  3. What we want explained
  4. A range of unlikely initial conditions
  5. Brute facts and explanation
  6. The best-system analysis
  7. Explaining the past state
  8. Conclusion
  9. Appendix


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