Related papers: A partial defense of algebraic relationalism
Algebraic quantum field theory is an approach to relativistic quantum physics, notably the theory of elementary particles, which complements other modern developments in this field. It is particularly powerful for structural analysis but…
Gravity theories with non-minimally coupled scalar fields are used as characteristic examples in order to demonstrate the challenges, pitfalls and future perspectives of considering alternatives to general relativity. These lecture notes…
A mathematical formalism for treating spacetime topology as a quantum observable is provided. We describe spacetime foam entirely in algebraic terms. To implement the correspondence principle we express the classical spacetime manifold of…
Relative algebroids provide a framework that unifies Lie algebroids with partial differential equations. In this set of notes, we explain how relative algebroids arise from geometric problems, and give an introduction to their structural…
Suppose one seeks to free oneself from a symmetric absolute space by quotienting out its symmetry group. This in general however fails to erase all memory of this absolute space's symmetry properties. Stratification is one major reason for…
We study the square of opposition and its various geometric generalizations from an algebraic viewpoint. In particular, we show how the various shapes of oppositions can be framed under an algebraic framework and we illustrate this approach…
We provide five rearticulations of the thesis that the structure of spacetime is conventional, rather than empirically determined, based upon variation of the structures that are empirically underdetermined and modal contexts in which this…
Starting from a description of various generalized function algebras based on sequence spaces, we develop the general framework for considering linear problems with singular coefficients or non linear problems. Therefore, we prove…
In this paper we investigate the history of relationalism and its present use in some interpretations of quantum mechanics. In the first part of this article we will provide a conceptual analysis of the relation between substantivalism,…
In the last decades the logico-algebraic approach to quantum mechanics turned to be a successful tool to render the quantum mechanical formalism on a steady operationalistic background. The algebraic approach to general relativity first…
Scientific realism is, currently, one of the most well-entrenched background assumptions of some relevant versions of anti-exceptionalism about logic. We argue that this is a sort of sociological contingency rather than a metaphilosophical…
Quantum measurement predictions are consistent with relativity for macroscopic observations, but there is no consensus on how to explain this consistency in fundamental terms. The prevailing assumption is that the relativistic structure of…
Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of quantum-scale experiments, the physical interpretations of these theories remain controversial. In this manuscript, we propose a new…
General relativity and quantum mechanics have both revealed the relativity of certain notions that were previously thought to be absolute. I clarify the precise sense in which these theories are relational, and I argue that the various…
A quantitative model of concurrent interaction is introduced. The basic objects are linear combinations of partial order relations, acted upon by a group of permutations that represents potential non-determinism in synchronisation. This…
General relativity poses serious problems for counterfactual propositions peculiar to it as a physical theory. Because these problems arise solely from the dynamical nature of spacetime geometry, they are shared by all schools of thought on…
Relationalism -- along the lines developed by Barbour and collaborators in the past 3 decades -- can be considered an advance with 1/4 of the facets of the canonical approach's Problem of Time as identified by Isham and Kuchar. Indeed,…
We generalize the concept of a field by allowing addition to be a partial operation. We show that elements of such a "partially additive field" share many similarities with physical quantities. In particular, they form subsets of mutually…
Differential forms is a highly geometric formalism for physics used from field theories to General Relativity (GR) which has been a great upgrade over vector calculus with the advantages of being coordinate-free and carrying a high degree…
Radical ontic structural realism (ROSR) asserts an ontological commitment to 'free-standing' physical structures understood solely in terms of fundamental relations, without any recourse to relata which stand in these relations. Bain (2011)…