Vassallo, Antonio and Naranjo, Pedro and Koslowski, Tim (2022) A Proposal for a Metaphysics of Self-Subsisting Structures. I. Classical Physics. Synthese, 200. ISSN 1573-0964

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Abstract

We present a new metaphysical framework for physics that is conceptually clear, ontologically parsimonious, and empirically adequate. This framework relies on the notion of self-subsisting structure, that is, a set of fundamental physical elements whose individuation and behavior are described in purely relational terms, without any need for a background spacetime. Although the specification of the fundamental elements of the ontology depends on the particular physical domain considered---and is thus susceptible to scientific progress---, the empirically successful structural features of the framework are preserved through theory change. The kinematics and dynamics of these self-subsisting structures are technically implemented using the theoretical framework of Pure Shape Dynamics, which provides a completely relational physical description of a system in terms of the intrinsic geometry of a suitably defined space called shape space.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Vassallo, Antonio antonio.vassallo1977@gmail.com 0000-0002-1846-5362 Naranjo, Pedro Koslowski, Tim
Keywords:	Self-subsisting structure; relationalism; ontic structural realism; Humeanism; pure shape dynamics; parsimony
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory General Issues > Theory Change
Depositing User:	Antonio Vassallo
Date Deposited:	04 Sep 2022 17:40
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2022 17:40
Item ID:	21126
Journal or Publication Title:	Synthese
Publisher:	Springer (Springer Science+Business Media B.V.)
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-0...
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s11229-022-03865-x
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Laws of Nature Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory General Issues > Theory Change
Date:	3 September 2022
Volume:	200
ISSN:	1573-0964
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21126

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