Kitcher's explanatory unification, Kaluza-Klein theories, and the normative aspect of higher dimensional unification in physics

摘要

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.