Roberts, Bryan W. (2025) The conventionality of geometry is merely incomplete. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Empiricists following Poincaré have argued that spacetime geometry can be freely chosen by convention, while adjusting unobservable structure so as to maintain empirical adequacy. In this article, I first prove two no-go results against the conventionality of geometry, which strengthen known results in the literature, and then argue that any remaining conventionality arises from scientific incompleteness. To illustrate, I discuss a new kind of conventionality that is available in the presence of higher spatial dimensions, and illustrate how the incompleteness in such models can be resolved by introducing new physical theories like Kaluza-Klein theory. Conventional choices of this kind may provide a fruitful starting point in the search for new science, but if successful would eliminate the conventionalist alternatives.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Additional Information: | Forthcoming in Philosophy of Science | ||||||
| Keywords: | conventionality of geometry, philosophy of space and time, philosophy of physics | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Ontology Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Depositing User: | Bryan W. Roberts | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 17 Oct 2025 11:03 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 17 Oct 2025 11:03 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 26951 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Ontology Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Date: | 1 April 2025 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26951 |
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The conventionality of geometry is merely incomplete. (deposited 01 Apr 2025 16:48)
- The conventionality of geometry is merely incomplete. (deposited 17 Oct 2025 11:03) [Currently Displayed]
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