Statistical Mechanics and Scientific Explanation

The book explores several open questions in the philosophy and the foundations of statistical mechanics. Each chapter is written by a leading expert in philosophy of physics and/or mathematical physics. Here is a list of questions that are addressed in the book:
Contents: Introduction (Valia Allori)The Different Faces of Explanation:The Mentaculus Vision (Barry Loewer)Probabilistic Explanations and the Derivation of Macroscopic Laws (Jean Bricmont)Some Reflections on the Statistical Postulate: Typicality, Probability and Explanation between Deterministic and Indeterministic Theories (Valia Allori)Explaining Thermodynamics: What Remains to be Done (Wayne C Myrvold)The Language of Typicality:Reassessing Typicality Explanations in Statistical Mechanics (Massimilaino Badino)The Logic of Typicality (Harry Crane and Isaac Wilhelm)The Grammar of Typicality (Tim Maudlin)The Past Hypothesis, the Arrows of Time, and Cosmology:Can the Past Hypothesis Explain the Psychological Arrow of Time? (Meir Hemmo and Orly Shenker)Eternal Recurrence Worlds and the BestSystem Account of Laws (Ryan A Olsen and Christopher J G Meacham)Arrow(s) of Time without a Past Hypothesis (Dustin Lazarovici and Paula Reichert)The Influence of Gravity on the Boltzmann Entropy of a Closed Universe (Michael K-H Kiessling)Some Consideration from Quantum Mechanics:Foundations of Statistical Mechanics and the Status of the Born Rule in de Broglie-Bohm Pilot-Wave Theory (Antony Valentini)Time's Arrow in a Quantum Universe: On the Status of Statistical Mechanical Probabilities (Eddy Keming Chen)Boltzmann and Gibbs:Gibbs and Boltzmann Entropy in Classical and Quantum Mechanics (Sheldon Goldstein, Joel L Lebowitz, Roderich Tumulka and Nino Zanghì)The Necessity of Gibbsian Statistical Mechanics (David Wallace)Taming Abundance: On the Relation between Boltzmannian and Gibbsian Statistical Mechanics (Charlotte Werndl and Roman Frigg)Index
Readership: Graduate and research level students and professional in mathematical physics, statistical mechanics, quantum theory and physics.Statistical Mechanics;Entropy;Thermodynamics;Laws of Nature;Macroscopic Laws;Second Law of Thermodynamics;Determinism;Indeterminism;Chance;Probability;Typicality;Scientific Explanation;Past Hypothesis;Boltzmann;Gibbs0Key Features:The book is one of the few edited collections devoted to the foundation of statistical mechanicsThe content focuses on discussing several new topics (e.g. typicality) that has not received their deserved attention in the literatureMany of the contributors are the recognized leaders in philosophy of physics and mathematical physics