Philosophy of Cosmology
- LAST REVIEWED: 03 May 2023
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 August 2019
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0233
- LAST REVIEWED: 03 May 2023
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 August 2019
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0233
Introduction
Physical cosmology, the study of the large-scale structure of the universe and its evolution, has become a central area of research in fundamental physics. Theoretical and observational developments have led to acceptance of a “standard model” describing the history of the universe in impressive detail. These developments raise a number of challenging foundational questions that have stimulated the emerging field of philosophy of cosmology. Many of these questions are closely tied to discussions in general philosophy of science and philosophy of physics, whereas others are distinctive to the field. This bibliography aims to provide an orientation for both kinds of questions. As philosophy of cosmology is an emerging field, the literature in this area is sparse. Hence this bibliography includes two kinds of references that do not explicitly address philosophy of cosmology. First, it identifies several philosophical papers regarding other scientific fields, with the thought that these will inform discussions of parallel issues in cosmology. Second, it includes several references to the scientific literature, to provide philosophers with a useful orientation to contemporary scientific debates.
Overviews, Textbooks, and Anthologies
These overviews provide accessible philosophical introductions to issues in cosmology. Quantitative precision cosmology is a relatively new scientific discipline, so philosophical analyses of the discipline are sparse. Smeenk 2013 is a useful orientation for newcomers to the field; see Smeenk and Ellis 2017 for further detail. Chamcham, et al. 2017 provides a higher-level survey of various issues in the philosophy of cosmology, as does Zinkernagel 2014. Torretti 2000 and Malament 2012 are more focused overviews of the historical and contemporary states of relativity, respectively. Geroch 2013 is an accessible conceptual introduction. Ryden 2016 and Dodelson 2003 are comprehensive textbook introductions to general relativity and cosmology, written for physicists in training. Ellis 2006 surveys the features of cosmology that make it unique among investigations in physics.
Chamcham, K., J. Silk, J. D. Barrow, and S. Saunders. The Philosophy of Cosmology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Featuring chapters from leading cosmologists, theoretical physicists, and philosophers of physics, the anthology covers topics specific to the philosophy of cosmology—including structure formation in the universe, the structure of the standard model of cosmology, and tensions between gravity and quantum theory—as well more general philosophical issues that appear in the study of cosmology—including time’s arrow, the existence of the universe, confirmation of theories, and probability.
Dodelson, S. Modern Cosmology. Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2003.
A good textbook treatment, not presuming knowledge of general relativity and covering a variety of topics in addition to relativistic models.
Ellis, G. F. R. “Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology.” In Handbook in Philosophy of Physics. Edited by J. Butterfield and J. Earman, 1183–1286. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Elsevier, 2006.
Ellis outlines the present state of cosmology and details what makes cosmology unique—in particular, the uniqueness of its object and its role as the background for all of physics.
Geroch, R. General Relativity from A to B. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
A beautifully executed introductory text.
Malament, D. B. Topics in the Foundations of General Relativity and Newtonian Gravitation Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226502472.001.0001
Masterful treatment of the foundations of relativity theory, including special topics (Gödel spacetime, rotation, and geometrized Newtonian gravitation).
Ryden, B. Introduction to Cosmology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Advanced undergraduate-level textbook for physics students, this text provides an introduction to cosmology that does not presuppose background knowledge of general relativity.
Smeenk, C. “Philosophy of Cosmology.” In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics. Edited by R. Batterman, 607–652. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
This article provides an overview of the foundations of the standard model of cosmology, modern quantitative applications, and philosophical issues related to cosmology. Topics include dark matter, dark energy, early universe cosmology, the uniqueness of the universe, and anthropic reasoning. The article is meant to serve as an introduction to philosophy of cosmology for philosophy graduate students.
Smeenk, C., and G. F. R. Ellis. “Philosophy of Cosmology.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by E. N. Zalta. Stanford, CA: Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2017.
In a more recent review of the field, Smeenk and Ellis provide a detailed survey meant as a reference for working philosophers. This article covers background for understanding the standard model of cosmology, as well as philosophical issues such as underdetermination, the origins of the universe, testing cosmological models, and anthropic reasoning.
Torretti, R. “Spacetime Models for the World.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 31.2 (2000): 171–186.
DOI: 10.1016/S1355-2198(99)00036-2
Concise historical and philosophical discussion of the early days of relativistic cosmology.
Zinkernagel, H. ed. Special Issue: Philosophy of Cosmology. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 46 (2014).
A special issue dedicated to papers on various topics in the philosophy of cosmology, including underdetermination, epistemology, testability, and predictability.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- A Priori Knowledge
- Abduction and Explanatory Reasoning
- Ability
- Abortion
- Abstract Objects
- Action
- Addams, Jane
- Adorno, Theodor
- Aesthetic Hedonism
- Aesthetics, Analytic Approaches to
- Aesthetics, Continental
- Aesthetics, Environmental
- Aesthetics, History of
- African Philosophy, Contemporary
- Alexander, Samuel
- Analytic/Synthetic Distinction
- Anarchism, Philosophical
- Animal Rights
- Anscombe, G. E. M.
- Anthropic Principle, The
- Anti-Natalism
- Applied Ethics
- Aquinas, Thomas
- Argument Mapping
- Art and Emotion
- Art and Knowledge
- Art and Morality
- Artifacts
- Assertion
- Astell, Mary
- Atheism
- Augustine
- Aurelius, Marcus
- Austin, J. L.
- Autonomy
- Bacon, Francis
- Bayesianism
- Beauty
- Belief
- Bergson, Henri
- Berkeley, George
- Biology, Philosophy of
- Bolzano, Bernard
- Boredom, Philosophy of
- British Idealism
- Buber, Martin
- Buddhist Philosophy
- Burge, Tyler
- Business Ethics
- Camus, Albert
- Canterbury, Anselm of
- Carnap, Rudolf
- Causation
- Cavendish, Margaret
- Certainty
- Chemistry, Philosophy of
- Childhood, Philosophy of
- Chinese Philosophy
- Cognitive Ability
- Cognitive Phenomenology
- Cognitive Science, Philosophy of
- Coherentism
- Color
- Communitarianism
- Computational Science
- Computer Science, Philosophy of
- Computer Simulations
- Comte, Auguste
- Concepts
- Conceptual Role Semantics
- Conditionals
- Confirmation
- Confucius
- Connectionism
- Consciousness
- Constructive Empiricism
- Contemporary Hylomorphism
- Contextualism
- Contrastivism
- Cook Wilson, John
- Cosmology, Philosophy of
- Critical Theory
- Culture and Cognition
- Daoism and Philosophy
- Davidson, Donald
- de Beauvoir, Simone
- de Montaigne, Michel
- Death
- Decision Theory
- Deleuze, Gilles
- Democracy
- Depiction
- Derrida, Jacques
- Descartes, René
- Descartes, René: Sensory Representations
- Descriptions
- Dewey, John
- Dialetheism
- Disability
- Disagreement, Epistemology of
- Disjunctivism
- Dispositions
- Divine Command Theory
- Doing and Allowing
- du Châtelet, Emilie
- Dummett, Michael
- Dutch Book Arguments
- Early Modern Philosophy, 1600-1750
- Eastern Orthodox Philosophical Thought
- Education, Philosophy of
- Emotion
- Engineering, Philosophy and Ethics of
- Environmental Philosophy
- Epicurus
- Epistemic Basing Relation
- Epistemic Defeat
- Epistemic Injustice
- Epistemic Justification
- Epistemic Philosophy of Logic
- Epistemology
- Epistemology and Active Externalism
- Epistemology, Bayesian
- Epistemology, Feminist
- Epistemology, Internalism and Externalism in
- Epistemology, Moral
- Epistemology of Education
- Ethical Consequentialism
- Ethical Deontology
- Ethical Intuitionism
- Eugenics and Philosophy
- Events, The Philosophy of
- Evidence
- Evidence-Based Medicine, Philosophy of
- Evidential Support Relation In Epistemology, The
- Evil
- Evolutionary Debunking Arguments in Ethics
- Evolutionary Epistemology
- Experimental Philosophy
- Explanations of Religion
- Extended Mind Thesis, The
- Externalism and Internalism in the Philosophy of Mind
- Faith, Conceptions of
- Fatalism
- Feminist Aesthetics and Feminist Philosophy of Art
- Feminist Philosophy
- Feyerabend, Paul
- Fichte, Johann Gottlieb
- Fiction
- Fictionalism
- Fictionalism in the Philosophy of Mathematics
- Film, Philosophy of
- Foot, Philippa
- Foreknowledge
- Forgiveness
- Formal Epistemology
- Foucault, Michel
- Free Will
- Frege, Gottlob
- Gadamer, Hans-Georg
- Geometry, Epistemology of
- God and Possible Worlds
- God, Arguments for the Existence of
- God, The Existence and Attributes of
- Grice, Paul
- Habermas, Jürgen
- Hart, H. L. A.
- Heaven and Hell
- Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: Aesthetics
- Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: Metaphysics
- Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: Philosophy of History
- Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: Philosophy of Politics
- Heidegger, Martin: Early Works
- Hermeneutics
- Higher Education, Philosophy of
- History, Philosophy of
- Hobbes, Thomas
- Horkheimer, Max
- Human Rights
- Hume, David: Aesthetics
- Hume, David: Moral and Political Philosophy
- Husserl, Edmund
- Idealizations in Science
- Identity in Physics
- Images
- Imagination
- Imagination and Belief
- Immanuel Kant: Political and Legal Philosophy
- Impossible Worlds
- Incommensurability in Science
- Indian Philosophy
- Indispensability of Mathematics
- Inductive Reasoning
- Infinitism
- Instruments in Science
- Intellectual Humility
- Intentionality, Collective
- Intuitions
- James, William
- Japanese Philosophy
- Kant and the Laws of Nature
- Kant, Immanuel: Aesthetics and Teleology
- Kant, Immanuel: Ethics
- Kant, Immanuel: Theoretical Philosophy
- Kierkegaard, Søren
- Knowledge
- Knowledge-first Epistemology
- Knowledge-How
- Kristeva, Julia
- Kuhn, Thomas S.
- Lacan, Jacques
- Lakatos, Imre
- Langer, Susanne
- Language of Thought
- Language, Philosophy of
- Latin American Philosophy
- Laws of Nature
- Legal Epistemology
- Legal Philosophy
- Legal Positivism
- Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm
- Levinas, Emmanuel
- Lewis, C. I.
- Liberty
- Literature, Philosophy of
- Locke, John
- Locke, John: Identity, Persons, and Personal Identity
- Logic
- Lottery and Preface Paradoxes, The
- Lucretius
- Machiavelli, Niccolò
- Martin Heidegger: Later Works
- Martin Heidegger: Middle Works
- Marx, Karl
- Material Constitution
- Mathematical Explanation
- Mathematical Pluralism
- Mathematical Structuralism
- Mathematics, Ontology of
- Mathematics, Philosophy of
- Mathematics, Visual Thinking in
- McDowell, John
- McTaggart, John
- Meaning of Life, The
- Mechanisms in Science
- Medically Assisted Dying
- Medicine, Contemporary Philosophy of
- Medieval Logic
- Medieval Philosophy
- Memory
- Mental Causation
- Mereology
- Merleau-Ponty, Maurice
- Meta-epistemological Skepticism
- Metaepistemology
- Metaethics
- Metametaphysics
- Metaphilosophy
- Metaphor
- Metaphysical Grounding
- Metaphysics, Contemporary
- Metaphysics, Feminist
- Midgley, Mary
- Mill, John Stuart
- Mind, Metaphysics of
- Modal Epistemology
- Modality
- Models and Theories in Science
- Modularity
- Montesquieu
- Moore, G. E.
- Moral Contractualism
- Moral Naturalism and Nonnaturalism
- Moral Responsibility
- Multiculturalism
- Murdoch, Iris
- Music, Analytic Philosophy of
- Nationalism
- Natural Kinds
- Naturalism in the Philosophy of Mathematics
- Naïve Realism
- Neo-Confucianism
- Neuroscience, Philosophy of
- Nietzsche, Friedrich
- Nonexistent Objects
- Normative Ethics
- Normative Foundations, Philosophy of Law:
- Normativity and Social Explanation
- Objectivity
- Occasionalism
- Olfaction
- Ontological Dependence
- Ontology of Art
- Ordinary Objects
- Other Minds
- Pacifism
- Pain
- Panpsychism
- Paradoxes
- Particularism in Ethics
- Pascal, Blaise
- Paternalism
- Patriotism
- Peirce, Charles Sanders
- Perception, Cognition, Action
- Perception, The Problem of
- Perfectionism
- Persistence
- Personal Identity
- Phenomenal Concepts
- Phenomenal Conservatism
- Phenomenology
- Philosophy for Children
- Photography, Analytic Philosophy of
- Physicalism
- Physicalism and Metaphysical Naturalism
- Physics, Experiments in
- Plato
- Plotinus
- Political Epistemology
- Political Obligation
- Political Philosophy
- Popper, Karl
- Pornography and Objectification, Analytic Approaches to
- Practical Knowledge
- Practical Moral Skepticism
- Practical Reason
- Pragmatics
- Pragmatism
- Probabilistic Representations of Belief
- Probability, Interpretations of
- Problem of Divine Hiddenness, The
- Problem of Evil, The
- Propositions
- Psychology, Philosophy of
- Punishment
- Pyrrhonism
- Qualia
- Quietism
- Quine, W. V. O.
- Race
- Racist Jokes
- Rationalism
- Rationality
- Rawls, John: Moral and Political Philosophy
- Realism and Anti-Realism
- Realization
- Reasons in Epistemology
- Reductionism in Biology
- Reference, Theory of
- Reid, Thomas
- Relativism
- Reliabilism
- Religion, Philosophy of
- Religious Belief, Epistemology of
- Religious Experience
- Religious Pluralism
- Ricoeur, Paul
- Rights
- Risk, Philosophy of
- Rorty, Richard
- Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
- Rule-Following
- Russell, Bertrand
- Ryle, Gilbert
- Sartre, Jean-Paul
- Schopenhauer, Arthur
- Science and Religion
- Science, Theoretical Virtues in
- Scientific Explanation
- Scientific Progress
- Scientific Realism
- Scientific Representation
- Scientific Revolutions
- Scotus, Duns
- Self-Knowledge
- Sellars, Wilfrid
- Semantic Externalism
- Semantic Minimalism
- Semiotics
- Seneca
- Senses, The
- Sensitivity Principle in Epistemology
- Shepherd, Mary
- Singular Thought
- Situated Cognition
- Situationism and Virtue Theory
- Skepticism, Contemporary
- Skepticism, History of
- Slurs, Pejoratives, and Hate Speech
- Smith, Adam: Moral and Political Philosophy
- Social Aspects of Scientific Knowledge
- Social Epistemology
- Social Identity
- Sounds and Auditory Perception
- Space and Time
- Speech Acts
- Spinoza, Baruch
- Stebbing, Susan
- Strawson, P. F.
- Structural Realism
- Suicide
- Supererogation
- Supervenience
- Tarski, Alfred
- Technology, Philosophy of
- Testimony, Epistemology of
- Theoretical Terms in Science
- Thomas Aquinas' Philosophy of Religion
- Thought Experiments
- Time and Tense
- Time Travel
- Toleration
- Torture
- Transcendental Arguments
- Tropes
- Trust
- Truth
- Truth and the Aim of Belief
- Truthmaking
- Turing Test
- Two-Dimensional Semantics
- Understanding
- Uniqueness and Permissiveness in Epistemology
- Utilitarianism
- Vagueness
- Value of Knowledge
- Vienna Circle
- Virtue Epistemology
- Virtue Ethics
- Virtues, Epistemic
- Virtues, Intellectual
- Voluntarism, Doxastic
- War
- Weakness of Will
- Weil, Simone
- Well-Being
- William of Ockham
- Williams, Bernard
- Wisdom
- Wittgenstein, Ludwig: Early Works
- Wittgenstein, Ludwig: Later Works
- Wittgenstein, Ludwig: Middle Works
- Wollstonecraft, Mary