Repository | Journal | Volume | Articles
(1991) Synthese 89 (2).
Theoretical determinism, as it is usually ascribed to Laplace, is neither verifiable nor falsifiable and has therefore no real content. It is not the same as predictability of actually observable phenomena. On the other hand, predictability is not an abstract principle; rather it is true to a certain degree, depending on the phenomena considered. It can be discussed only by examining the scientific state of affairs. This is done in some detail for classical statistical mechanics. Much of a recently published debate on determinism (Amsterdamski et al. 1990) is thereby obviated.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/BF00413908
Full citation:
Van Kampen, N. G. (1991). Determinism and predictability. Synthese 89 (2), pp. 273-281.
This document is unfortunately not available for download at the moment.