Space, Time, and (How They) Matter

This paper is a brief (and hopelessly incomplete) non-standard introduction to the philosophy of space and time. It is an introduction because I plan to give an overview of what I consider some of the main questions about space and time: Is space a substance over and above matter? How many dimensions does it have? Is space-time fundamental or emergent? Does time have a direction? Does time even exist? Nonetheless, this introduction is not standard because I conclude the discussion by presenting the material with an original spin, guided by a particular understanding of fundamental physical theories, the so-called primitive ontology approach.

[1]  O. Pooley.  Substantivalist and Relationalist Approaches to Spacetime , 2012 .

[2]  H. Everett.  "Relative State" Formulation of Quantum Mechanics , 1957 .

[3]  Peter J. Lewis.  Life in Configuration Space , 2004, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.

[4]  V. Allori.  On the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics , 2012 .

[5]  J. Hawthorne,et al.  Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics , 2008 .

[6]  Jill North.  The Structure of a Quantum World , 2012 .

[7]  David Z. Albert,et al.  Time and Chance , 2000 .

[8]  R. Healey.  Can Physics Coherently Deny the Reality of Time? , 2002, Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement.

[9]  Roderich Tumulka,et al.  Many Worlds and Schrödinger’s First Quantum Theory , 2009, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.

[10]  V. Allori.  Primitive Ontology in a Nutshell , 2015 .

[11]  Carlo Rovelli,et al.  “Forget time” , 2009, 0903.3832.

[12]  Karel V. Kuchař,et al.  TIME AND INTERPRETATIONS OF QUANTUM GRAVITY , 2011 .

[13]  D. J. Baker,et al.  Symmetry and the Metaphysics of Physics , 2010 .

[14]  A. Ney.  The Status of our Ordinary Three Dimensions in a Quantum Universe 1 , 2012 .

[15]  T. Maudlin.  Remarks on the passing of time , 2002 .

[16]  D. Albert.  Elementary Quantum Metaphysics , 1996 .

[17]  D. Albert.  Wave Function Realism , 2013 .

[18]  C. Wuthrich,et al.  Time in quantum gravity , 2012, 1207.1635.

[19]  Wayne C. Myrvold,et al.  What is a wavefunction? , 2015, Synthese.

[20]  D. Bohm.  A SUGGESTED INTERPRETATION OF THE QUANTUM THEORY IN TERMS OF "HIDDEN" VARIABLES. II , 1952 .

[21]  D. Rickles.  Mirror Symmetry and Other Miracles in Superstring Theory , 2010, 1004.4491.

[22]  V. Allori.  Primitive Ontology and the Structure of Fundamental Physical Theories , 2013 .

[23]  Bradley Monton,et al.  Wave Function Ontology , 2002, Synthese.

[24]  R. Dawid,et al.  String Theory and the Scientific Method: An altered perspective on scientific realism , 2013 .

[25]  J. Butterfield.  The Hole Truth , 1989, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.

[26]  Alyssa Ney,et al.  Finding the world in the wave function: some strategies for solving the macro-object problem , 2020, Synthese.

[27]  S. Goldstein,et al.  On the Common Structure of Bohmian Mechanics and the Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber Theory , 2006, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.

[28]  Julian Barbour,et al.  The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics , 2000 .

[29]  T. Maudlin.  Thoroughly Muddled McTaggart: Or, How to Abuse Gauge Freedom to Create Metaphysical Monostrosities , 2002 .

[30]  R. Healey.  Time, Reality & Experience: Can Physics Coherently Deny the Reality of Time? , 2002 .

[31]  Jill North,et al.  The "Structure" of Physics: A Case Study , 2009 .

[32]  T. Maudlin.  Completeness, supervenience and ontology , 2007 .

[33]  J. Earman.  Thoroughly Modern McTaggart: Or, What McTaggart Would Have Said if He Had Read the General Theory of Relativity , 2002 .

[34]  Shamik Dasgupta.  Substantivalism vs Relationalism About Space in Classical Physics , 2015 .

[35]  Weber,et al.  Unified dynamics for microscopic and macroscopic systems. , 1986, Physical review. D, Particles and fields.

[36]  Jill North.  Time in Thermodynamics , 2011 .

[37]  David Wallace,et al.  Quantum Mechanics on Spacetime I: Spacetime State Realism , 2009, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.

[38]  Alyssa Ney.  Fundamental physical ontologies and the constraint of empirical coherence: a defense of wave function realism , 2014, Synthese.

[39]  Alyssa Ney,et al.  The Wave Function: Essays in the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics , 2013 .

[40]  C. Wuthrich,et al.  Emergent spacetime and empirical (in)coherence , 2012, 1206.6290.

[41]  Quantum Spacetime without Observers: Ontological Clarity and the Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Gravity ∗ , 1999, quant-ph/9902018.

[42]  T. Maudlin.  Substances and space-time: What Aristotle would have said to Einstein , 1990 .

[43]  John D. Norton,et al.  What Price Spacetime Substantivalism? The Hole Story , 1987, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.

[44]  Stefan Teufel,et al.  Physics meets philosophy at the Planck scale: Quantum spacetime without observers: Ontological clarity and the conceptual foundations of quantum gravity , 2001 .