Philosophy of Space-Time Physics

I present a discussion of some open issues in the philosophy of space-time theories. Emphasis is put on the ontological nature of space and time, the relation between determinism and predictability, the origin of irreversible processes in an expanding Universe, and the compatibility of relativity and quantum mechanics. In particular, I argue for a Parmenidean view of time and change, I make clear the difference between ontological determinism and predictability, propose that the origin of the asymmetry observed in physical processes is related to the existence of cosmological horizons, and present a non-local concept of causality that can accommodate both special relativity and quantum entanglement.

Mètode Revista de difusió de la investigació, 2016

Scientific philosophy is that which is informed by science. It uses exact tools such as logic and mathematics and provides a framework for scientific activity to solve more general questions about nature, the language we use to describe it, and the knowledge we obtain thanks to it. Many of the scientific philosophy theories can be proven and evaluated using scientific evidence. In this paper, I focus on showing how several classical philosophy topics, such as the nature of space and time or the dimensionality of the future, can be addressed philosophically using the tools from current astrophysics research and, in particular, from the study of black holes and gravitational waves.

2021

The present volume collects essays on the philosophical foundations of quantum theories of gravity, such as loop quantum gravity and string theory. Central for philosophical concerns is quantum gravity's suggestion that space and time, or spacetime, may not exist fundamentally, but instead be a derivative entity emerging from non-spatiotemporal degrees of freedom. In the spirit of naturalised metaphysics, contributions to this volume consider the philosophical implications of this suggestion. In turn, philosophical methods and insights are brought to bear on the foundations of quantum gravity itself. For instance, the idea of functionalism, borrowed from the philosophy of mind and discussed by several essays, exemplifies this mutual interaction the collection seeks to foster.

Scientific philosophy is that which is informed by science. It uses exact tools such as logic and mathematics and provides a framework for scientific activity to solve more general questions about nature, the language we use to describe it, and the knowledge we obtain thanks to it. Many of the scientific philosophy theories can be proven and evaluated using scientific evidence. In this paper, I focus on showing how several classical philosophy topics, such as the nature of space and time or the dimensionality of the future, can be addressed philosophically using the tools from current astrophysics research and, in particular, from the study of black holes and gravitational waves.

We put forward a new view of relativity theory that makes the existence of a flow of time compatible with the four-dimensional block universe. To this end, we apply the creation-discovery view elaborated for quantum mechanics to relativity theory and in such a way that time and space become creations instead of discoveries and an underlying non temporal and non spatial reality comes into existence. We study the nature of this underlying non temporal and non spatial reality and reinterpret many aspects of the theory within this new view. We show that data of relativistic measurements are sufficient to derive the three-dimensionality of physical space. The nature of light and massive entities is reconsidered, and an analogy with human cognition is worked out.

2017

The text proposes some directions of research, as based on previous works made by the author. Our purpose is to discuss the contribution of general relativity to the epistemology of space and time, in the context of a relational, and not substantial, rationality. General relativity brings us the important idea (of a relational nature) that space and time do not constitute a scene external to phenomena, but that, on the contrary, the phenomena themselves, in the first place the phenomenon of gravitation, are responsible for assessing the corresponding variables. However, this contribution does not make us progress on the "mystery" of time, that remains conceptually separated from space, even though, since the relativity theory, the values of space and time variables are related. Encouraged by general relativity, we must go further and express more strongly the link between the concepts of space and time, and their identity of substance. The relational approach must extend t...

The Frontiers Collection, 2009

2016

Starting from a short review of the "classical" space problem in the sense of the 19th century (Helmholtz-Lie-Klein) it is discussed how the challenges posed by special and general relativity to the classical analysis were taken up by Hermann Weyl and Elie Cartan. Both mathematicians reconsidered the space problem from the point of view of transformations operating in the infinitesimal neighbourhoods of a manifold (spacetime). In a short outlook we survey further developments in mathematics and physics of the second half of the 20th century, in which core ideas of Weyl's and/or Cartan's analysis of the space problem were further investigated (mathematics) or incorporated into basic theories (physics).

I give a new and more general argument against Presentism within relativistic spacetimes. This argument is untouched by different recent proposals designed to save presentism in a relativistic setting.

2016

We consider to what extent the fundamental question of spacetime singularities is relevant for the philosophical debate about the nature of spacetime. After reviewing some basic aspects of the spacetime singularities within general relativity, we argue that the well known difficulty to localize them in a meaningful way may challenge the received metaphysical view of spacetime as a set of points possessing some intrinsic properties together with some spatiotemporal relations. Considering the algebraic for-mulation of general relativity, we argue that the spacetime singularities highlight the philosophically misleading dependence on the standard geometric representation of spacetime. 1. Introduction. Despite Earman’s (1995) invitation to consider more carefully the question of spacetime singularities, only a little literature in spacetime philosophy has been devoted to this foundational issue. (Some notable exceptions are Earman 1996, Curiel 1999, and Mattingly 2001.) This paper aims ...