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Beyond Falsifiability: Normal Science in a Multiverse

Carroll, Sean M. (2018) Beyond Falsifiability: Normal Science in a Multiverse. . (Submitted) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20180117-155705369

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Abstract

Cosmological models that invoke a multiverse - a collection of unobservable regions of space where conditions are very different from the region around us - are controversial, on the grounds that unobservable phenomena shouldn't play a crucial role in legitimate scientific theories. I argue that the way we evaluate multiverse models is precisely the same as the way we evaluate any other models, on the basis of abduction, Bayesian inference, and empirical success. There is no scientifically respectable way to do cosmology without taking into account different possibilities for what the universe might be like outside our horizon. Multiverse theories are utterly conventionally scientific, even if evaluating them can be difficult in practice.


Item Type:Report or Paper (Working Paper)
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://arxiv.org/abs/1801.05016arXivDiscussion Paper
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Carroll, Sean M.0000-0002-4226-5758
Additional Information:This research is funded in part by the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at Caltech and by DOE grant de-sc0011632.
Group:Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
Department of Energy (DOE)DE-SC0011632
Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, CaltechUNSPECIFIED
Other Numbering System:
Other Numbering System NameOther Numbering System ID
CALT-TH2018-003
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20180117-155705369
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20180117-155705369
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:84375
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Joy Painter
Deposited On:18 Jan 2018 00:03
Last Modified:03 Oct 2019 19:17

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