Abstract
This project focuses on time and related concepts, and phenomena that exemplify some of the ways in which physics and metaphysics interact. Physics,as it currently stands, is limited in its ability to provide concrete answers
to metaphysical questions about the nature of time. According to the naturalised metaphysics of Ladyman and Ross and others, metaphysical research
is to be carried out through an investigation of the best available physics. The
currently accepted, putatively most fundamental physical theories – general
relativity and quantum theory – treat time in conflicting ways. In particular,
time is treated as a dynamical degree of freedom, internal to the physical
system, in general relativity, but as an external parameter in quantum mechanics. The best approach to combining these theories into a unified theory
of quantum gravity is not yet settled. This presents a difficulty in attempting
to understand the metaphysical nature of time using naturalistic methods.
This dissertation explores this difficulty in five chapters: problems with an attempt to give a metaphysical interpretation of time in physics in general based on a generalisation of some mathematical methods (chapter 1); a refinement of perspectival realism appropriate for interpreting physical theories, providing a framework that can help us better understand when and to what extent a set of mathematical methods can be generalised (chapter 2); case studies of particular physical theories, one established and one speculative, giving conditions for constraining available metaphysical interpretations and foundations, respectively (chapters 3 and 4); and some reflections on naturalised metaphysics in general (chapter 5).
| Date of Award | 3 Oct 2023 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Karim Thebault (Supervisor) & James A C Ladyman (Supervisor) |
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