Giovanelli, Marco (2011) Leibniz Equivalence. On Leibniz's (Bad) Influence on the Logical Empiricist Interpretation of General Relativity. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Einstein’s “point-coincidence argument'” as a response to the “hole argument” is usually considered as an expression of “Leibniz equivalence,” a restatement of indiscernibility in the sense of Leibniz. Through a historical-critical analysis of Logical Empiricists' interpretation of General Relativity, the paper attempts to show that this labeling is misleading. Logical Empiricists tried explicitly to understand the point-coincidence argument as an indiscernibility argument of the Leibnizian kind, such as those formulated in the 19th century debate about geometry, by authors such as Poincaré, Helmholtz or Hausdorff. However, they clearly failed to give a plausible account of General Relativity. Thus the point-coincidence/hole argument cannot be interpreted as Leibnizian indiscernibility argument, but must be considered as an indiscernibility argument of a new kind. Weyl's analysis of Leibniz's and Einstein's indiscernibility arguments is used to support this claim.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Giovanelli, Marco marco.giovanelli@uni-tuebingen.de
Keywords:	Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz; Logical Empiricism; Philosophical interpretations of General Relativity; Point-coincindence argument; Hole Argument; Indiscernibility arguments; Felix Hausdorff; Hermann Weyl
Subjects:	General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User:	Dr. Marco Giovanelli
Date Deposited:	16 Apr 2013 12:40
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2013 12:40
Item ID:	9676
Subjects:	General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date:	11 March 2011
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9676

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• Leibniz Equivalence. On Leibniz's (Bad) Influence on the Logical Empiricist Interpretation of General Relativity. (deposited 17 Mar 2011 23:23)
  • Leibniz Equivalence. On Leibniz's (Bad) Influence on the Logical Empiricist Interpretation of General Relativity. (deposited 16 Apr 2013 12:40) [Currently Displayed]

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