Shape space as a conceptual space.
The notion of shape space was introduced in the second half of the 20th Century as a useful analytical tool for tackling problems related to the intrinsic spatial configuration of material systems. In recent years, the geometrical properties of shape spaces have been investigated and exploited to co...
| Published in: | Synthese Vol. 205; no. 6; pp. 1 - 19 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer Nature
Jun2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=185350972&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 185350972 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00397857 4LI jtl: Synthese issn: 00397857 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2025 vid: 205 iid: 6 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 185350972 10.1007/s11229-025-05040-4 ppf: 1 ppct: 18 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.4MB tig: atl: Shape space as a conceptual space. aug: au: Vassallo, Antonio affil: https://ror.org/00y0xnp53 Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences, Plac Politechniki 1, 00-661, Warsaw, Poland su: Twentieth century Mathematics Possibility Physics Argument sug: subj: Twentieth century Mathematics Possibility Physics Argument keyword: Conceptual space Leibnizian/Machian relationalism Mathematical Sciences Pure Mathematics Pure shape dynamics Shape space ab: The notion of shape space was introduced in the second half of the 20th Century as a useful analytical tool for tackling problems related to the intrinsic spatial configuration of material systems. In recent years, the geometrical properties of shape spaces have been investigated and exploited to construct a totally relational description of physics (classical, relativistic, and quantum). The main aim of this relational framework—originally championed by Julian Barbour and Bruno Bertotti—is to cast the dynamical description of material systems in dimensionless and scale-invariant terms only. As such, the Barbour-Bertotti approach to dynamics represents the technical implementation of the famous Leibnizian arguments against the reality of space and time as genuine substances. The question then arises about the status of shape space itself in this picture: Is it an actual physical space in which the fundamental relational dynamics unfolds, or is it just a useful mathematical construction? The present paper argues for the latter answer and, in doing so, explores the possibility that shape space is a peculiar case of a conceptual space. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Synthese is a copyright of Springer, 2025. All Rights Reserved. item: Synthese holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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