Related papers: Against Pointillisme about Geometry
The conceptual definition and understanding of the nature of time, both qualitatively and quantitatively is of the utmost difficulty and importance, and plays a fundamental role in physics. Physical systems seem to evolve in paths of…
The problem of constructing a quantum theory of gravity is considered from a novel viewpoint. It is argued that any consistent theory of gravity should incorporate a relational character between the matter constituents of the theory. In…
Two people may claim both to be naturalists, but have divergent conceptions of basic elements of the natural world which lead them to mean different things when they talk about laws of nature, or states, or the role of mathematics in…
Gravity can be formulated as a gauge theory by combining symmetry principles and geometrical methods in a consistent mathematical framework. The gauge approach to gravity leads directly to non-Euclidean, post-Riemannian spacetime…
Starting from the guiding principles of spacetime locality and operationalism, a general framework for a probabilistic description of nature is proposed. Crucially, no notion of time or metric is assumed, neither any specific physical…
In this paper we review some aspects of relativistic particles' mechanics in the case of a non-trivial geometry of momentum space. We start with showing how the curved momentum space arises in the theory of gravity in 2+1 dimensions coupled…
From classical mechanics to quantum field theory, the physical facts at one point in space are held to be independent of those at other points in space. I propose that we can usefully challenge this orthodoxy in order to explain otherwise…
In the context of theories of the connection between mind and brain, physicalism is the demand that all is basically purely physical. But the concept of "physical" embodied in this demand is characterized essentially by the properties of…
The paper has heuristic character. The conceptual frame, based on the assumption of quantum uncertainty only, has been formerly introduced in two papers [S. Tosto, Il Nuovo Cimento B, vol. 111, n.2, 1996 and S. Tosto, Il Nuovo Cimento D,…
Our understanding of the four basic concepts of Physics -- space, time, matter and force -- has undergone radical change in the course of work on unification, starting with Maxwell's unification of electricity with magnetism, all the way to…
Kantian philosophy of space, time and gravity is significantly affected in three ways by particle physics. First, particle physics deflects Schlick's General Relativity-based critique of synthetic a priori knowledge. Schlick argued that…
Minkowski space serves as a framework for the theoretical constructions that deal with manifestations of relativistic effects in physical phenomena. But neither Minkowski himself nor the subsequent developers of the relativity theory have…
The space-time geometry is considered to be a physical geometry, i.e. a geometry described completely by the world function. All geometrical concepts and geometric objects are taken from the proper Euclidean geometry. They are expressed via…
The new approach to quantize the gravity based on the notion of differential algebra is suggested. It is shown that the differential geometry of this object can not be described in terms of points. The spatialization procedure giving rise…
A literature review of related articles, either by affinity or by contrast, to a fundamental theory of time and space - time previously developed. It shows how from a primitive concept of preparticle and membership relation of set theory,…
In this article we will discuss a few aspects of the spacetime description of matter and fields. In Section:1 we will discuss the completeness of real numbers in the context of an alternate definition of the straight line as a geometric…
The relativistic conception of space and time is challenged by the quantum nature of physical observables. It has been known for a long time that Poincar\'e symmetry of field theory can be extended to the larger conformal symmetry. We use…
There is a contemporary trend toward geometrizing all mathematical theories, as proposed by the Langlands program, and, by extension, physical theories as well. Within this paradigm, it becomes possible to represent physical objects as…
We investigate the interplay and connections between symmetry properties of equations, the interpretation of coordinates, the construction of observables, and the existence of physical relativity principles in spacetime theories. Using the…
From the Physics point of view, time is now best described through General Relativity, as part of space-time which is a dynamical object encoding gravity. Time possesses also some intrinsic irreversibility due to thermodynamics, quantum…