Author:
Robertson Katie,Prunkl Carina
Abstract
AbstractThermodynamics is an unusual theory. Prominent figures, including J. C. Maxwell and E. T. Jaynes, have suggested that thermodynamics is anthropocentric, and contemporary approaches label thermodynamics a “subjective theory.” Here, we evaluate the arguments for anthropocentrism but conclude that instead of pointing to an anthropocentric view, they point towards a resource-relative understanding of thermodynamics which can be shorn of the “subjective gloss.”
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
History and Philosophy of Science,Philosophy,History
Reference35 articles.
1. Fundamental Work Cost of Quantum Processes
2. Maxwell, James Clerk. (1878) 1965. “Diffusion.” In The Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell, vol. 2, edited by Niven, W. D. , 625–646. New York: Dover Publications.
3. Excuse our ignorance
4. Objectivity as Independence
5. Beyond Chance and Credence