Wuthrich, Christian (2023) The philosophy of causal set theory. [Preprint]
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Abstract
This article presents the most interesting philosophical issues as they arise in causal set theory. The first concerns the apparent disappearance of spacetime at the fundamental level. It shows how the looming empirical incoherence is averted if we adopt spacetime functionalism. Second, classical sequential growth dynamics rekindles hope for a fundamental passage of physical time compatible with relativistic physics. The article argues that this hope is faint at best, as a block view offers the most natural interpretation of dynamical causal set theory. Third, causal set theory admits a very natural structuralist interpretation, enabling a fruitful interaction between debates in philosophy of science concerning structural realism and the metaphysics of causal sets.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Additional Information: | 28 pages; written for Cosimo Bambi, Leonardo Modesto, and Ilya Shapiro (eds.), Handbook of Quantum Gravity, to be published with Springer Nature, Singapore. | ||||||
| Keywords: | Causal set theory, emergence of spacetime, empirical incoherence, spacetime functionalism, philosophy of time, presentism, eternalism, asynchronous becoming, structuralism, structural realism | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Depositing User: | Christian Wuthrich | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 10 Aug 2023 13:46 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 10 Aug 2023 13:46 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 22387 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Date: | 8 August 2023 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22387 |
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