Dependence Relations in General Relativity

TL;DR

This paper explores the unique dependence relation in general relativity, proposing a new framework that better captures the mutual action between matter and spacetime structures, differing from traditional causation or grounding.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical approach using structural equation modeling to characterize the dependence in Einstein's field equations, challenging standard analyses.

Findings

Dependence in general relativity differs from traditional causation or grounding.

A new structural equation framework effectively models this dependence.

The Einstein field equations encode a unique form of dependence.

Abstract

The paper discusses from a metaphysical standpoint the nature of the dependence relation underpinning the talk of mutual action between material and spatiotemporal structures in general relativity. It is shown that the standard analyses of dependence in terms of causation or grounding are ill-suited for the general relativistic context. Instead, a non-standard analytical framework in terms of structural equation modeling is exploited, which leads to the conclusion that the kind of dependence encoded in the Einstein field equations is a novel one.