Against Fields

TL;DR

The paper critiques the concept of fields in classical electrodynamics, advocating for a particle-based direct interaction approach as a more coherent and metaphysically sound alternative.

Contribution

It defends the Wheeler-Feynman direct interaction theory as a superior formulation of classical electrodynamics over field-based theories.

Findings

Critiques the conceptual flaws of fields in classical electrodynamics.

Argues for the metaphysical and physical advantages of particle ontology.

Supports the direct interaction theory as the most coherent approach.

Abstract

Using the example of classical electrodynamics, I argue that the concept of fields as mediators of particle interactions is fundamentally flawed and reflects a misguided attempt to retrieve Newtonian concepts in relativistic theories. This leads to various physical and metaphysical problems that are discussed in detail. In particular, I emphasize that physics has not found a satisfying solution to the self-interaction problem in the context of the classical field theory. To demonstrate the superiority of a pure particle ontology, I defend the direct interaction theory of Wheeler and Feynman against recent criticism and argue that it provides the most cogent formulation of classical electrodynamics.