Switch to: References

Add citations

You must login to add citations.
  1. (1 other version)Incubating a Future Metaphysics: Quantum Gravity.Joshua Norton - unknown
    In this paper, I will argue that metaphysicians ought to utilize quantum theories of gravity as incubators for a future metaphysics. In §1, I will argue why this ought to be done. In §2, I will present case studies from the history of science where physical theories have challenged both the dogmatic and speculative metaphysician. In §3, I will present two theories of QG and demonstrate the challenge they pose to certain aspects of our current metaphysics; in particular, how they (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   5 citations  
  • A hole revolution, or are we back where we started?Oliver Pooley - 2006 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 37 (2):372-380.
    Doubts are raised concerning Rickles' claim that ``an exact analog of the hole argument can be constructed in the loop representation of quantum gravity'' (Rickles, `A new spin on the hole argument', Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 36 (2005) 415–434).
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   14 citations  
  • Suppressing spacetime emergence.Joshua Norton - 2021 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 88 (C):50-59.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   2 citations  
  • The Deep Metaphysics of Quantum Gravity: The Seventeenth Century Legacy and an Alternative Ontology Beyond Substantivalism and Relationism.Edward Slowik - 2013 - Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44 (4):490-499.
    This essay presents an alternative to contemporary substantivalist and relationist interpretations of quantum gravity hypotheses by means of an historical comparison with the ontology of space in the seventeenth century. Utilizing differences in the spatial geometry between the foundational theory and the theory derived from the foundational, in conjunction with nominalism and platonism, it will be argued that there are crucial similarities between seventeenth century and contemporary theories of space, and that these similarities reveal a host of underlying conceptual issues (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   2 citations  
  • (1 other version)Incubating a future metaphysics: quantum gravity.Joshua Norton - 2020 - Synthese 197 (5):1961-1982.
    In this paper, I will argue that metaphysicians ought to utilize quantum theories of gravity as incubators for a future metaphysics. I will argue why this ought to be done and will present cases studies from the history of science where physical theories have challenged both the dogmatic and speculative metaphysician. I provide two theories of QG and demonstrate the challenge they pose to certain aspects of our current metaphysics; in particular, how they challenge our understanding of the abstract–concrete distinction. (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   3 citations  
  • The philosophy of quantum gravity – lessons from Nicolai Hartmann.Simonluca Pinna - 2015 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 5 (3):279-296.
    An astonishing thesis in the philosophy of quantum gravity is that spacetime ”disappears” at the fundamental level of reality, and that the geometrical notions of ”length” and ”duration” are derived from the dynamics of the basic non–geometrical building blocks of the theory. Unveiling here the analysis of the concepts of spacetime, measure, and magnitude, given by the philosopher Nicolai Hartmann, I argue that the ”disappearance” thesis is too strong. The fundamental geometrical notions are, on the contrary, primitive and cannot be (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  • Structural realism and quantum gravity.Tian Yu Cao - 2006 - In Dean Rickles, Steven French & Juha T. Saatsi (eds.), The Structural Foundations of Quantum Gravity. Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   3 citations  
  • Appearing Out of Nowhere: The Emergence of Spacetime in Quantum Gravity.Karen Crowther - 2014 - Dissertation, University of Sydney
    Quantum gravity is understood as a theory that, in some sense, unifies general relativity (GR) and quantum theory, and is supposed to replace GR at extremely small distances (high-energies). It may be that quantum gravity represents the breakdown of spacetime geometry described by GR. The relationship between quantum gravity and spacetime has been deemed ``emergence'', and the aim of this thesis is to investigate and explicate this relation. After finding traditional philosophical accounts of emergence to be inappropriate, I develop a (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   5 citations  
  • Interpreting quantum gravity.Dean Rickles - 2005 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 36 (4):691-715.
    This is an essay review of two textbooks on quantum gravity by Carlo Rovelli and Claus Kiefer.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   4 citations  
  • Bringing the hole argument back in the loop: A response to Pooley.Dean Rickles - 2006 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 37 (2):381-387.
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   5 citations  
  • Who's afraid of background independence?Dean Rickles - 2008 - In Dennis Geert Bernardus Johan Dieks (ed.), The Ontology of Spacetime II. Elsevier. pp. 133--52.
    Background independence is generally considered to be ‘the mark of distinction’ of general relativity. However, there is still confusion over exactly what background independence is and how, if at all, it serves to distinguish general relativity from other theories. There is also some confusion over the philosophical implications of background independence, stemming in part from the definitional problems. In this paper I attempt to make some headway on both issues. In each case I argue that a proper account of the (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   12 citations  
  • A Pre-History of Quantum Gravity: The Seventeenth Century Legacy and the Deep Metaphysics of Space beyond Substantivalism and Relationism.Edward Slowik - unknown
    This essay demonstrates the inadequacy of contemporary substantivalist and relationist interpretations of quantum gravity hypotheses via an historical investigation of the debate on the underlying ontology of space in the seventeenth century. Viewed in the proper context, there are crucial similarities between seventeenth century theories of space and contemporary work on the ontological foundations of spacetime theories, and these similarities challenge the utility of the substantival/relational dichotomy by revealing a host of underlying conceptual issues that do not naturally align with (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  • Regarding the `Hole Argument' and the `Problem of Time'.Karim P. Y. Thebault & Sean Gryb - 2016 - Philosophy of Science 83 (4):563-584.
    The canonical formalism of general relativity affords a particularly interesting characterisation of the infamous hole argument. It also provides a natural formalism in which to relate the hole argument to the problem of time in classical and quantum gravity. In this paper we examine the connection between these two much discussed problems in the foundations of spacetime theory along two interrelated lines. First, from a formal perspective, we consider the extent to which the two problems can and cannot be precisely (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   2 citations  
  • Points, particles and structural realism’.Oliver Pooley with Ian Gibson - manuscript
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  • Empirically Incoherent Quantum Gravity.Joshua Norton - 2021 - Theoria 87 (6):1349-1379.
    It is argued that certain quantum theories of gravity — string theory, loop quantum gravity, non-commutative field theory — do not include spacetime as part of their fundamental ontology. There is a concern in the literature that theories of this kind are physically opaque and empirically incoherent. In this paper, I clarify and amend Huggett and Wüthrich’s argument against these claims. Whereas the content of this paper centres on the disappearance and re-emergence of spacetime in quantum gravity, much of the (...)
    Download  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark