The curious case of spacetime emergence.

Work in quantum gravity suggests that spacetime is not fundamental. Rather, spacetime emerges from an underlying, non-spatiotemporal reality. After clarifying the type of emergence at issue, I argue that standard conceptions of emergence available in metaphysics won't work for the emergence of space...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Philosophical Studies Vol. 177; no. 8; pp. 2207 - 2227
Autor principal: Baron, Sam
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Aug2020
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Work in quantum gravity suggests that spacetime is not fundamental. Rather, spacetime emerges from an underlying, non-spatiotemporal reality. After clarifying the type of emergence at issue, I argue that standard conceptions of emergence available in metaphysics won't work for the emergence of spacetime. I go on to consider spacetime functionalism as a way to make sense of spacetime emergence. I argue that a functionalist approach to spacetime modelled on mental state functionalism is not a viable alternative to the standard conception of emergence in metaphysics. I go on to consider an alternative: 'partial' functionalism, whereby certain aspects of spacetime are functionalised, rather than spacetime as a whole.