Lam, Vincent and Wuthrich, Christian (2018) Spacetime is as spacetime does. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Theories of quantum gravity generically presuppose or predict that the reality underlying relativistic spacetimes they are describing is significantly non-spatiotemporal. On pain of empirical incoherence, approaches to quantum gravity must establish how relativistic spacetime emerges from their non-spatiotemporal structures. We argue that in order to secure this emergence, it is sufficient to establish that only those features of relativistic spacetimes functionally relevant in producing empirical evidence must be recovered. In order to complete this task, an account must be given of how the more fundamental structures instantiate these functional roles. We illustrate the general idea in the context of causal set theory and loop quantum gravity, two prominent approaches to quantum gravity.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
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| Additional Information: | 24 pages, 1 figure | |||||||||
| Keywords: | Spacetime functionalism; emergence of spacetime; quantum gravity; empirical incoherence; loop quantum gravity, causal set theory | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity General Issues > Reductionism/Holism Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Depositing User: | Christian Wuthrich | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 13 Mar 2018 00:24 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 13 Mar 2018 00:24 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 14451 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity General Issues > Reductionism/Holism Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Date: | 11 January 2018 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14451 |
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