Quantum Spacetime: Echoes of basho
History and Philosophy of Physics
2026-04-15 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Abstract
I will discuss how the concept of basho, introduced by Nishida Kitaro nearly a century ago, can give an interesting insight to understand the concept of a point in modern quantum gravity. A quantum spacetime, necessary for the quantization of gravity, requires a whole rethinking of geometry, starting from the primitive concepts, like that of a point. I argue that the local vision of what becomes of classical points in quantum gravity, and in particular in noncommutative geometry, shows several similarities with Nishida's basho.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.17691,
title = {Quantum Spacetime: Echoes of basho},
author = {Fedele Lizzi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.17691},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
Preprint version of a chapter of the forthcoming book "Tetsugaku Companion to Modern Physics and Kyoto School Philosophy" ISBN978-3-032-05584-2