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Geometrodynamics as Functionalism about Time

Gomes, Henrique and Butterfield, Jeremy (2020) Geometrodynamics as Functionalism about Time. [Preprint]

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Abstract

We review three broadly geometrodynamical---and in part, Machian or relational---projects, from the perspective of spacetime functionalism. We show how all three are examples of functionalist reduction of the type that was advocated by D. Lewis, and nowadays goes by the label `the Canberra Plan’.

The projects are: (1) the recovery of geometrodynamics by Hojman et al. (1976); (2) the programme of Schuller and collaborators (Schuller 2011; Duell, Schuller et al. 2018) to deduce a metric from the physics of matter fields; (3) the deduction of the ADM Hamiltonian by Gomes and Shyam (2016).

We end by drawing a positive corollary about shape dynamics: namely, it has a good rationale for the Hamiltonian it postulates.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Gomes, Henriquegomes.ha@gmail.com0000-0002-9285-0090
Butterfield, Jeremyjb56@cam.ac.uk0000-0002-0215-5802
Additional Information: Submitted to: From Quantum to Classical: Essays in memory of Dieter Zeh; edited by Claus Kiefer: Springer, Cham, 2021.
Keywords: Geometrodynamics, spacetime functionalism, Machian and relational approaches to dynamics, functionalism as reduction, the Canberra Plan, shape dynamics, H-D. Zeh
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity
General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
General Issues > Structure of Theories
Depositing User: Jeremy Butterfield
Date Deposited: 31 Oct 2020 15:44
Last Modified: 31 Oct 2020 15:44
Item ID: 18339
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity
General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
General Issues > Structure of Theories
Date: October 2020
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/18339

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