Martens, Niels C M (2018) Against Laplacian Reduction of Newtonian Mass to Spatiotemporal Quantities. Foundations of Physics. ISSN 1572-9516
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Abstract
Laplace wondered about the minimal choice of initial variables and parameters corresponding to a well-posed initial value problem. Discussions of Laplace's problem in the literature have focused on choosing between spatiotemporal variables relative to absolute space (i.e. substantivalism) or merely relative to other material bodies (i.e. relationalism) and between absolute masses (i.e. absolutism) or merely mass ratios (i.e. comparativism). This paper extends these discussions of Laplace's problem, in the context of Newtonian Gravity, by asking whether mass needs to be included in the initial state at all, or whether a purely spatiotemporal initial state suffices. It is argued that mass indeed needs to be included; removing mass from the initial state drastically reduces the predictive and explanatory power of Newtonian Gravity.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Mass, Newtonian Gravity, reduction, Laplace, Mach | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Reductionism/Holism |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Niels C.M. Martens | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 14 Mar 2018 21:21 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 14 Mar 2018 21:21 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 14462 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Foundations of Physics | ||||||
| Publisher: | Springer | ||||||
| Official URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10701-018-0149-0 | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.1007/s10701-018-0149-0 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics General Issues > Reductionism/Holism |
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| Date: | 14 March 2018 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1572-9516 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14462 |
Available Versions of this Item
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Against Reducing Newtonian Mass to Kinematical Quantities. (deposited 27 Jul 2016 19:00)
- Against Laplacian Reduction of Newtonian Mass to Spatiotemporal Quantities. (deposited 14 Mar 2018 21:21) [Currently Displayed]
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