Vassallo, Antonio (2021) Does General Relativity Highlight Necessary Connections in Nature? [Preprint]

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Abstract

The dynamics of general relativity is encoded in a set of ten differential equations, the so-called Einstein field equations. It is usually believed that Einstein's equations represent a physical law describing the coupling of spacetime with material fields. However, just six of these equations actually describe the coupling mechanism: the remaining four represent a set of differential relations known as Bianchi identities. The paper discusses the physical role that the Bianchi identities play in general relativity, and investigates whether these identities --qua part of a physical law-- highlight some kind of a posteriori necessity in a Kripkean sense. The inquiry shows that general relativistic physics has an interesting bearing on the debate about the metaphysics of the laws of nature.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Vassallo, Antonio antonio.vassallo1977@gmail.com 0000-0002-1846-5362
Additional Information:	Accepted for publication in Synthese
Keywords:	General relativity, laws of nature, necessity, Bianchi identities, Humeanism, background independence
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User:	Antonio Vassallo
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2021 20:09
Last Modified:	07 Jan 2021 20:09
Item ID:	18573
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s11229-020-03009-z
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date:	2021
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/18573

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