Physics and Chance: Philosophical Issues in the Foundations of Statistical Mechanics Book

	Preface
1	Introduction	1
I	Philosophy and the foundations of physics	1
II	The structure of this book	7
2	Historical sketch	14
I	Thermodynamics	15
II	Kinetic theory	28
III	Gibbs' statistical mechanics	48
IV	The critical exposition of the theory of P. and T. Ehrenfest	59
V	Subsequent developments	71
3	Probability	90
I	Formal aspects of probability	91
II	Interpretations of probability	96
III	Probability in statistical mechanics	120
4	Statistical explanation	128
I	Philosophers on explanation	128
II	Statistical explanation in statistical mechanics	148
5	Equilibrium theory	156
I	Autonomous equilibrium theory and its rationalization	156
II	The development of contemporary ergodic theory	164
III	Ergodicity and the rationalization of equilibrium statistical mechanics	175
6	Describing non-equilibrium	196
I	The aims of the non-equilibrium theory	196
II	General features of the ensemble approach	199
III	Approaches to the derivation of kinetic behavior	207
IV	General features of the rationalization program for the non-equilibrium theory	215
7	Rationalizing non-equilibrium theory	219
I	Two preliminaries	219
II	Rationalizing three approaches to the kinetic equation	224
III	Interpretations of irreversibility	246
IV	The statistical explanation of non-equilibrium behavior	279
8	Cosmology and irreversibility	297
I	The invocation of cosmological considerations	297
II	Conditions at the initial singularity	307
III	Branch systems	318
9	The reduction of thermodynamics to statistical mechanics	333
I	Philosophical models of inter-theoretic reduction	333
II	The case of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics	345
III	Problematic aspects of the reduction	361
10	The direction of time	375
I	The Boltzmann thesis	375
II	Asymmetry of time or asymmetries in time?	378
III	What is the structure of the Boltzmann thesis?	385
11	The current state of the major questions	413
	References	421
	Index	429