The local validity of special relativity, part 1: geometry

Fletcher, Samuel C. and Owen Weatherall, James (2023) The local validity of special relativity, part 1: geometry. Philosophy of Physics, 1 (1). ISSN 2753-5908

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Abstract

In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as “locally special relativistic.” Here, in Part 1, we focus on senses in which a relativistic spacetime has been said to be “locally (approximately) Minkowskian.” After critiquing several proposals in the literature, we present a result capturing a substantive sense in which every relativistic spacetime is locally approximately Minkowskian. We then show that Minkowski spacetime is not distinguished in this result: every relativistic spacetime is locally approximately every other spacetime in the same sense. In Part 2, we will consider “locally specially relativistic” matter theories.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://philosophyofphysics.lse.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General) Q Science > QC Physics B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2023 13:03
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2023 13:09
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120923

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