The infinite turn and speculative explanations in cosmology

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the use of infinity in cosmological explanations, introducing concepts like relative infinity and closure to evaluate their reasonableness and scientific validity.

Contribution

It proposes a framework to assess the legitimacy of infinite and speculative explanations in cosmology, emphasizing the importance of economy and constructiveness.

Findings

Infinities often serve as speculative tools in cosmology.

The paper introduces criteria for evaluating the reasonableness of infinite explanations.

It highlights the need for economy and constructiveness in scientific explanations.

Abstract

Infinity, in various guises, has been invoked recently in order to `explain' a number of important questions regarding observable phenomena in science, and in particular in cosmology. Such explanations are by their nature speculative. Here we introduce the notions of relative infinity, closure, and economy of explanation and ask: to what extent explanations involving relative or real constructed infinities can be treated as reasonable?