2022/12/08 by Adam Koberinski, Koberinski, Adam, Bridget Falck +3 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2212.04335
openalex publication_date 2022/12/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The (re)introduction of Λ into cosmology has spurred debates that touch on central questions in philosophy of science, as well as the foundations of general relativity and particle physics. We provide a systematic assessment of the often implicit philosophical assumptions guiding the methodology of precision cosmology in relation to dark energy. We start by briefly introducing a recent account of scientific progress in terms of risky and constrained lines of inquiry. This allows us to contrast aspects of Λ that make it relevantly different from other theoretical entities in science, such as its remoteness from direct observation or manipulability. We lay out a classification for possible ways to explain apparent accelerated expansion but conclude that these conceptually clear distinctions may blur heavily in practice. Finally, we consider the important role played in cosmology by critical tests of background assumptions, approximation techniques, and core principles, arguing that the weak anthropic principle fits into this category. We argue that some core typicality assumptions -- like the Copernican principle and the cosmological principle -- are necessary though not provable, while others -- like the strong anthropic principle and appeals to naturalness or probability in the multiverse -- are not similarly justifiable.