Weatherall, James Owen and Manchak, John Byron (2013) The Geometry of Conventionality. [Preprint]

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Abstract

There is a venerable position in the philosophy of space and time that holds that the geometry of spacetime is conventional, provided one is willing to postulate a "universal force field". Here we ask a more focused question, inspired by this literature: in the context of our best classical theories of space and time, if one understands "force" in the standard way, can one accommodate different geometries by postulating a new force field? We argue that the answer depends on one's theory. In Newtonian gravitation the answer is "yes"; in relativity theory, it is "no".

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Weatherall, James Owen weatherj@uci.edu Manchak, John Byron manchak@uw.edu
Additional Information:	Forthcoming in Philosophy of Science.
Keywords:	Reichenbach, conventionality of geometry, general relativity, Newton-Cartan theory, geometrized Newtonian gravitation
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Conventionalism General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User:	James Owen Weatherall
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2014 16:06
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2014 16:06
Item ID:	10222
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Conventionalism General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date:	2013
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10222

Available Versions of this Item

• The Geometry of Conventionality. (deposited 08 Feb 2013 14:36)
  • The Geometry of Conventionality. (deposited 20 Feb 2013 13:32)
    • The Geometry of Conventionality. (deposited 13 Jan 2014 16:06) [Currently Displayed]
    • The Geometry of Conventionality. (deposited 08 Aug 2013 08:26)

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