Letertre, Laurie (2025) Non-Humean laws of nature without spacetime. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Recent approaches in quantum gravity suggest that spacetime may not be a fundamental aspect of reality, but rather an emergent phenomenon arising from a more fundamental substratum. This raises a significant challenge for traditional accounts of laws of nature, which are typically grounded in spatiotemporal concepts. This paper discusses two non-Humean strategies for formulating laws of nature in the absence of spacetime: the 'non-temporal evolution' approach and the 'global constraints' approach. The argument begins by showing that the latter permits a more naturalistic stance than the former. A tentative defence is then provided against the objection that laws as global constraints are too thin to provide genuine metaphysical intelligibility and explanatory power.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Non-Humeanism, Laws of nature, Global Constraints, Laws as constraints, quantum gravity, non-fundamental spacetime, metaphysics of laws, counterfactuals, possible worlds, primitivism, dispositionalism, natural necessity | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Laurie Letertre | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 10 Aug 2025 13:42 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 10 Aug 2025 13:42 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 26168 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics |
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| Date: | 2025 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26168 |
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Non-Humean laws of nature without spacetime. (deposited 12 Jul 2025 15:25)
- Non-Humean laws of nature without spacetime. (deposited 10 Aug 2025 13:42) [Currently Displayed]
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