Laplacian Deterministic Universe Demon Theory
A Laplacian Deterministic Universe Demon Theory is a theory of the universe which suggests that given precise location information and momentum information of every atom in the universe, their past values and future values for any given time are entailed.
- AKA: Laplace's Demon.
- See: Classical Mechanics, Causal Determinism.
References
2015
- (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laplace's_demon Retrieved:2015-10-11.
- In the history of science, Laplace's demon was the first published articulation of causal or scientific determinism by Pierre-Simon Laplace in 1814. According to determinism, if someone (the Demon) knows the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe, their past and future values for any given time are entailed; they can be calculated from the laws of classical mechanics. [1]
- ↑ Pierre-Simon Laplace, "A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities" (full text).
- (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/determinism#Varieties Retrieved:2015-10-11.
- … Laplace posited that an omniscient observer knowing with infinite precision all the positions and velocities of every particle in the universe could predict the future entirely. For a discussion, see Another view of determinism is discussed by </ref> Nomological determinism is sometimes called 'scientific' determinism, although that is a misnomer. Physical determinism is generally used synonymously with nomological determinism (its opposite being physical indeterminism).
...
- … Laplace posited that an omniscient observer knowing with infinite precision all the positions and velocities of every particle in the universe could predict the future entirely. For a discussion, see Another view of determinism is discussed by </ref> Nomological determinism is sometimes called 'scientific' determinism, although that is a misnomer. Physical determinism is generally used synonymously with nomological determinism (its opposite being physical indeterminism).
- http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Simon_Laplace#Laplace.27s_demon
- In 1814, Laplace published what is usually known as the first articulation of causal or scientific determinism …
This intellect is often referred to as Laplace's demon (in the same vein as Maxwell's demon) and sometimes Laplace's Superman (after Hans Reichenbach). Laplace, himself, did not use the word "demon", which was a later embellishment. As translated into English above, he simply referred to: "Une intelligence... Rien ne serait incertain pour elle, et l'avenir comme le passé, serait présent à ses yeux."
Even though Laplace is known as the first to express such ideas about causal determinism, his view is very similar to the one proposed by Boscovich as early as 1763 in his book Theoria philosophiae naturalis.[1]
- In 1814, Laplace published what is usually known as the first articulation of causal or scientific determinism …
- ↑ Cercignani, Carlo (1998). "Chapter 2: Physics before Boltzmann". Ludwig Boltzmann, The Man Who Trusted Atoms. Oxford University Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-19-850154-4.
1814
- (Laplace, 1814) ⇒ Pierre-Simon Laplace. (1814). “A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities (Essai philosophique sur les probabilités)."
- QUOTE: … We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes. …