Esfeld, Michael (2017) Super-Humeanism: the Canberra plan for physics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

The paper argues for a metaphysics in the vein of the Canberra plan, namely to single out a minimal, basic set of entities and then to show how everything else is located in that set by being identical with something in that set and how the propositions that describe the basic entities entail all the other true propositions. The paper conceives the Canberra plan for the domain of the natural sciences as a naturalized metaphysics that is not committed to a priori entailment. The proposal is that the minimal set of entities is defined by the following two axioms: (1) There are distance relations that individuate simple objects, namely matter points. (2) The matter points are permanent, with the distances between them changing. Finally, the paper explains how the Canberra plan sets a clear standard for ontological issues that go beyond the natural sciences.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Esfeld, Michael Michael-Andreas.Esfeld@unil.ch
Keywords:	Canberra plan, minimalist ontology, parsimony, Humeanism, Super-Humeanism, relationalism about space-time, ontic structural realism
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User:	Michael Esfeld
Date Deposited:	06 Nov 2017 13:58
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2017 13:58
Item ID:	14095
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date:	5 November 2017
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14095

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