Kitcher's Explanatory Unification, Kaluza-Klein Theories, and the Normative Aspect of Higher Dimensional Unification in Physics (2012)
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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