Machian Comparativism about Mass
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8399048 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Niels C M Martens (0000-0002-2839-1387, RWTH Aachen University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 325-349 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axz013 |
| OpenAlex | W2944741678 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 29 |
Absolutism about mass within Newtonian gravity claims that mass ratios obtain in virtue of absolute masses. Comparativism denies this. Defenders of comparativism promise to recover all the empirical and theoretical virtues of absolutism, but at a lower ‘metaphysical cost’. This article develops a Machian form of comparativism about mass in Newtonian gravity, obtained by replacing Newton’s constant in the law of universal gravitation by another constant divided by the sum over all masses. Although this form of comparativism is indeed empirically equivalent to the absolutist version of Newtonian gravity—thereby meeting the challenge posed by the comparativist’s bucket argument—it is argued that the explanatory power and metaphysical parsimony of comparativism (and especially its Machian form) are highly questionable.
Argument (complex analysis) · Classical mechanics · Epistemology · Gravitation · Metaphysics · Newton's law of universal gravitation · Newtonian fluid · Physics · Theoretical physics · History and Theory of Mathematics · Philosophy · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Relativity and Gravitational Theory
Species of Structure and Physical Dimensions
The metaphysics of mixed quantities
Good Vibes only
On the ontology of particle mass and energy in special relativity
Invariance or equivalence
The (un)detectability of absolute Newtonian masses
Sophistry about symmetries
The Nature of a Constant of Nature
Reviving Reduction
Kinematical Equivalence and Cosmic Conspiracies
On Absolute Units
A Primer on Determinism
Physical Relativity
Individuals
What Not to Multiply Without Necessity
Geometric Possibility
Redundant epistemic symmetries
Physics meets philosophy at the planck scale
Motivating dualities
Regularity Comparativism about Mass in Newtonian Gravity
Invariance, Interpretation, and Motivation
Mirroring as an A Priori Symmetry
Symmetry as an Epistemic Notion (Twice Over)
Quantitative Parsimony and Explanatory Power
Sklar's Maneuver
Quantitative Parsimony
Geometry and motion
Quantitative Parsimony
Ontology and ideology
Quantitative Properties
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |