Constructor theory.

Constructor theory seeks to express all fundamental scientific theories in terms of a dichotomy between and physical transformations–those that can be caused to happen and those that cannot. This is a departure from the prevailing conception of fundamental physics which is to predict what from in...

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Publicado en:Synthese Vol. 190; no. 18; pp. 4331 - 4360
Autor principal: Deutsch, David
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Dec2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        au: Deutsch, David
        affil:
          Centre for Quantum Computation, The Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
          Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
      su:
        Fundamental forces (Physics)
        Prediction models
        Motivation (Psychology)
        Quantum information theory
        Thermodynamics
        Von Neumann architecture (Computers)
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          Fundamental forces (Physics)
          Prediction models
          Motivation (Psychology)
          Quantum information theory
          Thermodynamics
          Von Neumann architecture (Computers)
      keyword:
        Constructor theory
        Physics of computation
        Von Neumann machines
      ab: Constructor theory seeks to express all fundamental scientific theories in terms of a dichotomy between and physical transformations–those that can be caused to happen and those that cannot. This is a departure from the prevailing conception of fundamental physics which is to predict what from initial conditions and laws of motion. Several converging motivations for expecting constructor theory to be a fundamental branch of physics are discussed. Some principles of the theory are suggested and its potential for solving various problems and achieving various unifications is explored. These include providing a theory of information underlying classical and quantum information; generalising the theory of computation to include all physical transformations; unifying formal statements of conservation laws with the stronger operational ones (such as the ruling-out of perpetual motion machines); expressing the principles of testability and of the computability of nature (currently deemed methodological and metaphysical respectively) as laws of physics; allowing exact statements of emergent laws (such as the second law of thermodynamics); and expressing certain apparently anthropocentric attributes such as knowledge in physical terms.
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    language: English
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