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Is space-time discrete or continuous? — An empirical question

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Abstract

In this paper I present the Discrete Space-Time Thesis, in a way which enables me to defend it against various well-known objections, and which extends to the discrete versions of Special and General Relativity with only minor difficulties. The point of this presentation is not to convince readers that space-time really is discrete but rather to convince them that we do not yet know whether or not it is. Having argued that it is an open question whether or not space-time is discrete, I then turn to some possible empirical evidence, which we do not yet have. This evidence is based on some slight differences between commonly occurring differential equations and their discrete analogs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Philosophy Department, University of New England, 2351, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Peter Forrest

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  1. Peter Forrest
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Additional information

I would like to express my thanks to John McKie with whom I have had several inspiring conversations about discrete space. I would also like to thank the audience of a paper on this topic which I read in October 1991 at the College Park campus of the University of Maryland. Finally I would like to thank the referees ofSynthese for their comments. One of them, in particular, should be thanked especially for help in improving Appendix Two.

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Forrest, P. Is space-time discrete or continuous? — An empirical question. Synthese 103, 327–354 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01089732

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01089732

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