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Counterparts, Determinism, and the Hole Argument

Cudek, Franciszek (2024) Counterparts, Determinism, and the Hole Argument. [Preprint]

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Abstract

The hole argument concludes that substantivalism about spacetime entails the radical indeterminism of the general theory of relativity (GR). In this paper, I amend and defend a response to the hole argument first proposed by Butterfield (1989) that relies on the idea of counterpart substantivalism. My amendment clarifies and develops the metaphysical presuppositions of counterpart substantivalism and its relation to various definitions of determinism. My defence consists of two claims. First, contra Weatherall (2018) and others: the hole argument is not a blunder resulting from a mistaken view on how mathematical physics works, and requires a developed (meta)metaphysical response. Second, contra Melia (1999) and others: one can be content with a notion of determinism for GR which is not sensitive to merely haecceitistic differences.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Cudek, Franciszekfranciszek.cudek@philosophy.ox.ac.uk0000-0002-9219-6199
Keywords: The hole argument, modality, determinism, general relativity
Subjects: General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User: Franciszek Cudek
Date Deposited: 28 Jan 2024 11:17
Last Modified: 28 Jan 2024 11:17
Item ID: 23022
Subjects: General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date: 2024
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23022

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