2015/09/13 by Erik Curiel, Curiel, Erik · 1 voice
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #gr-qc #physics.hist-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1509.03866
10 pages
arxiv created 2015/09/13 · openalex publication_date 2015/09/13 · arxiv published 2015/09/13 · arxiv updated 2015/09/13 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
General relativity poses serious problems for counterfactual propositions peculiar to it as a physical theory. Because these problems arise solely from the dynamical nature of spacetime geometry, they are shared by all schools of thought on how counterfactuals should be interpreted and understood. Given the role of counterfactuals in the characterization of, inter alia, many accounts of scientific laws, theory confirmation and causation, general relativity once again presents us with idiosyncratic puzzles any attempt to analyze and understand the nature of scientific knowledge must face.