Manchak, JB and Barrett, Thomas William (2024) Heraclitus-Maximal Worlds. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Within the context of general relativity, the Heraclitus asymmetry property requires that no distinct pair of spacetime events have the same local structure (Manchak and Barrett 2023). Here, we explore Heraclitus- maximal worlds – those which are “as large as they can be” with respect to the Heraclitus property. Using Zorn’s lemma, we prove that such worlds exist and highlight a number of their properties. If attention is restricted to Heraclitus-maximal worlds, we show a sense in which observers have the epistemic resources to know which world they inhabit.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Manchak, JB jmanchak@uci.edu Barrett, Thomas William thomaswb@princeton.edu
Keywords:	Heraclitus; Leibniz; Spacetime; Maximality; Zorn's Lemma; Underdetermination
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User:	John Byron Manchak
Date Deposited:	18 Aug 2024 06:07
Last Modified:	18 Aug 2024 06:07
Item ID:	23797
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date:	14 August 2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23797

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• Heraclitus-Maximal Worlds. (deposited 16 Apr 2024 23:43)
  • Heraclitus-Maximal Worlds. (deposited 18 Aug 2024 06:07) [Currently Displayed]

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