Binkoski, James (2017) On the Viability of Galilean Relationalism. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 68 (4). pp. 1183-1204. ISSN 1464-3537

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Abstract

I explore the viability of a Galilean relational theory of spacetime -- a theory that includes among its stock of basic relations a three-place collinearity relation. Two formal results are established. First, I prove the existence of a class of dynamically possible models of Newtonian mechanics in which collinearity is uninstantiated. Second, I prove that the dynamical properties of Newtonian systems fail to supervene on their Galilean relations. On the basis of these two results, I argue that Galilean relational spacetime is too weak of a structure to support a relational interpretation of classical mechanics.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Binkoski, James
Keywords:	Spacetime, Relationalism, Classical Mechanics
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics
Depositing User:	James Binkoski
Date Deposited:	13 Dec 2024 15:27
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2024 15:27
Item ID:	24386
Journal or Publication Title:	British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
Publisher:	The University of Chicago
Official URL:	https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1093/bjps...
DOI or Unique Handle:	https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axw002
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics
Date:	December 2017
Page Range:	pp. 1183-1204
Volume:	68
Number:	4
ISSN:	1464-3537
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24386

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