I examine the relation between explanation and unification in both the original Kaluza--Klein theory, which originated in the works of Theodor Kaluza and Oskar Klein in the 1920s, and in the modern Kaluza--Klein theories which date back to the late 1970s and which are still considered by the majority of the physics community to be the best hope for a complete unified theory of all fundamental interactions. I use the conclusions of this case study to assess the merits of Philip Kitcher's account of explanation as unification. I also draw lessons about physicists' pursuit of the higher dimensional unification of the fundamental forces of nature.
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Thesis
Karaca, Koray;
(2010)
Historical and Conceptual Foundations of the Higher Dimensional Unification Program in Physics
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Thesis
Vanderburgh, William L.;
(2001)
Dark matters in contemporary astrophysics: A case study in theory choice and evidential reasoning
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Alexander Pechenkin;
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The Ensemble Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and Scientific Realism
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Radin Dardashti;
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No-go Theorems: What Are They Good For?
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(2002)
Explanation is a Genus: An Essay on the Varieties of Scientific Explanation
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Leunissen, Mariska;
(2010)
Explanation and Teleology in Aristotle's Science of Nature
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Gauld, Colin F.;
(2010)
Newton's Investigation of the Resistance to Moving Bodies in Continuous Fluids and the Nature of “Frontier Science”
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Toader, Iulian D.;
(2013)
Concept Formation and Scientific Objectivity: Weyl's Turn against Husserl
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(2016)
Nature, Knowledge, and Scientific Theories in G. C. Lichtenberg’s Reflections on Physics
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Manning, Gideon;
(2012)
Analogy and Falsification in Descartes' Physics
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Diederik Aerts;
Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi;
Sandro Sozzo;
Tomas Veloz;
(2020)
On the Conceptuality Interpretation of Quantum and Relativity Theories
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Chapter
Eintalu., Jüri;
(2001)
Outsolutions in Physical Theories. Physical Considerations
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Article
Jansson, Lina;
(2013)
Newton's “satis est”: A New Explanatory Role for Laws
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Ruth Glasner;
(2020)
An early stage in the evolution of Aristotle's physics
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Article
Giulio Peruzzi;
Alessio Rocci;
(2019)
Quantum Cultures during the Prehistory of Quantum Gravity: Léon Rosenfeld's Early Contributions to Quantum Gravity
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Book
Kragh, Helge;
(2011)
Higher Speculations: Grand Theories and Failed Revolutions in Physics and Cosmology
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Article
Mike D. Schneider;
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Vincenzo De Risi;
David Rabouin;
(2019)
Introduction
(/isis/citation/CBB534995802/)
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