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Einstein Algebras and the Hole Argument

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Jonathan Bain
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Abstract

Einstein algebras have been suggested (Earman 1989) and rejected (Rynasiewicz 1992) as a way to avoid the hole argument against spacetime substantivalism. In this article, I debate their merits and faults. In particular, I suggest that a gauge-invariant interpretation of Einstein algebras that avoids the hole argument can be associated with one approach to quantizing gravity, and, for this reason, is at least as well motivated as sophisticated substantivalist and relationalist interpretations of the standard tensor formalism.

Type
Philosophy of Space and Time
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 70 , Issue 5: Proceedings of the 2002 Biennial Meeting of The Philosophy of Science Association. Part I: Contributed Papers , December 2003 , pp. 1073 - 1085
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

Thanks to Jeremy Butterfield for insightful comments on an earlier draft. Any remaining mistakes are, of course, those of the author.

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