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A New Approach to the Relational-Substantival Debate

North, Jill (2017) A New Approach to the Relational-Substantival Debate. [Preprint]

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Abstract

We should see the debate over the existence of spacetime as a debate about the fundamentality of spatiotemporal structure to the physical world. This is a non-traditional conception of the debate, which captures the spirit of the traditional one. At the same time, it clarifies the point of contention between opposing views and offsets worries that the dispute is stagnant or non-substantive. It also unearths a novel argument for substantivalism, given current physics. Even so, that conclusion can be overridden by future physics. I conclude that this debate is a substantive one, which the substantivalist is currently winning.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
North, Jillj.north@rutgers.edu
Keywords: spacetime, structure, substantivalism, relationalism, metaphysics of physics
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics
Depositing User: Jill North
Date Deposited: 24 Sep 2017 02:15
Last Modified: 24 Sep 2017 02:15
Item ID: 13480
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics
Date: 2017
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/13480

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