Mandersian Relationism: Space, Modality, and Equivalence

Abstract

Modal relationism is the view that our best physical theories can dispense with substantival space or spacetime in favor of possible configurations of particles. Kenneth Manders argued that the substantivalist conception is equivalent to this Leibnizian conception of space. To do so, Manders provides a translation f from the Newtonian theory T N into the Leibnizian modal relationist account T L . In this paper, we show that the translation does not establish equivalence, since there is no translation g : T L → T N that preserves theoremhood. This seems to show that the modal relationist theory T L is less parsimonious than its substantivalist rival.

Is the Metric Signature Really Electromagnetic in Origin?

“…Since Occamist motivations are some of the strongest militating in favour of relationalism in general (cf. (Babic, 2023;Pooley, 2013)), this point is, therefore, arguably a blow to some of the foundational motivations underlying the premetric program.…”