Explanatory Problems for Mass Additivity and Dynamics

Bibliographic Data

ID22329295
AuthorsZee R Perry (0000-0002-8010-7726, University of Birmingham, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume55
Issue163
Pages45-80
Publication date2023-05-12
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-1503 • E-ISSN: 1870-4905
PublisherUniversidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (PUBLISHER • MX)
DOI10.22201/iifs.18704905e.2023.1408
OpenAlexW4377104849
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

I present an argument against the view that the additivity of mass (i.e., the property according to which a composite object’s mass is the “sum” of its parts’) is metaphysically independent of dynamical laws governing massive bodies. In particular, taking additivity to be independent of dynamics commits you to widespread unexplained correlations between the mass properties of composites and the dynamic behavior of massive bodies. The second half of the paper extends this explanatory worry, showing that the very same considerations apply to aspects of mass’s quantitative structure. This gives rise to a new and powerful objection to certain influential theories about the fundamental structure of physical quantities —most notably the magnitude realism of Peacocke (2019) and the second-order absolutist accounts defended by Mundy (1987) and Eddon (2013b)

Additive function · Classical mechanics · Epistemology · Mathematical analysis · Mathematical economics · Metaphysics · Physics · Realism · Statistical physics · Theoretical physics · Worry · Chemistry · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Statistical Mechanics and Entropy

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