A Proposal for a Metaphysics of Self-Subsisting Structures. I. Classical Physics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new metaphysical framework for classical physics based on self-subsisting structures, emphasizing relational properties without background spacetime, and employs Pure Shape Dynamics for its technical implementation.

Contribution

It proposes a novel ontologically parsimonious framework for physics that is conceptually clear and empirically adequate, utilizing self-subsisting structures and shape space.

Findings

Framework is conceptually clear and ontologically parsimonious.

Preserves empirical success through theory change.

Utilizes Pure Shape Dynamics for relational description.

Abstract

We present a new metaphysical framework for physics that is conceptually clear, ontologically parsimonious, and empirically adequate. This framework relies on the notion of self-subsisting structure, that is, a set of fundamental physical elements whose individuation and behavior are described in purely relational terms, without any need for a background spacetime. Although the specification of the fundamental elements of the ontology depends on the particular physical domain considered -- and is thus susceptible to scientific progress -- , the empirically successful structural features of the framework are preserved through theory change. The kinematics and dynamics of these self-subsisting structures are technically implemented using the theoretical framework of Pure Shape Dynamics, which provides a completely relational physical description of a system in terms of the intrinsic geometry of a suitably defined space called shape space.