Leibnizian relationalism for general relativistic physics. (August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vassallo, Antonio; Esfeld, Michael
• Is Part Of: Studies in history and philosophy of modern physics. Volume 55(2016)
• Page Start: 101
• Page End: 107
• Publication Date: 2016-08
• Subjects: Leibnizian relationalism -- Humeanism -- General relativity -- Gravity -- Shape dynamics -- Duality; Physics -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; Physics -- History -- Periodicals; 530.01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsb.2016.08.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1355-2198

Abstract

Abstract: An ontology of Leibnizian relationalism, consisting in distance relations among sparse matter points and their change only, is well recognized as a serious option in the context of classical mechanics. In this paper, we investigate how this ontology fares when it comes to general relativistic physics. Using a Humean strategy, we regard the gravitational field as a means to represent the overall change in the distance relations among point particles in a way that achieves the best combination of being simple and being informative.