John Earman
Encyclopedia
John Earman is a philosopher of physics
. He is currently an emeritus professor in the History and Philosophy of Science
department at the University of Pittsburgh
. He has also taught at UCLA, the Rockefeller University, and the University of Minnesota, and was president of the Philosophy of Science Association. He received his PhD from Princeton in 1968. Earman is on the Editorial Boards of Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics and Physics in Perspective.
". The hole argument was invented for slightly different purposes by Albert Einstein
late in 1913 as part of his quest for the general theory of relativity (GTR). It was revived and reformulated in the modern context by John3 (a short form for the "three Johns": John Earman, John Stachel
, and John Norton).
With the GTR, the traditional debate between absolutism and relationalism
has been shifted to whether or not spacetime
is a substance, since the GTR largely rules out the existence of, e.g., absolute positions. The "hole argument" offered by John Earman is a powerful argument against spacetime substantivalism.
This is a technical mathematical argument but can be paraphrased as follows:
Define a function
as the identity function over all elements over the manifold
, excepting a small neighbourhood (topology
)
belonging to 
. Over 
, 
comes to differ from identity by a smooth function.
With use of this function
we can construct two mathematical models, where the second is generated by applying 
to proper elements of the first, such that the two models are identical prior to the time 
, where 
is a time function created by a foliation
of spacetime, but differ after
.
These considerations show that, since substantivalism allows the construction of holes, that the universe must, on that view, be indeterministic. Which, Earman argues, is a case against substantivalism, as the case between determinism
or indeterminism
should be a question of physics, not of our commitment to substantivalism.
Philosophy of physics
In philosophy, the philosophy of physics studies the fundamental philosophical questions underlying modern physics, the study of matter and energy and how they interact. The philosophy of physics begins by reflecting on the basic metaphysical and epistemological questions posed by physics:...
. He is currently an emeritus professor in the History and Philosophy of Science
History and philosophy of science
The history and philosophy of science is an academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained primarily as either historians or as philosophers, there are degree-granting departments of HPS at several...
department at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. He has also taught at UCLA, the Rockefeller University, and the University of Minnesota, and was president of the Philosophy of Science Association. He received his PhD from Princeton in 1968. Earman is on the Editorial Boards of Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics and Physics in Perspective.
The hole argument
Earman has notably contributed to debate about the "hole argumentHole argument
In general relativity, the hole argument is a "paradox" which much troubled Albert Einstein while developing his famous field equation.It is incorrectly interpreted by some philosophers as an argument against manifold substantialism, a doctrine that the manifold of events in spacetime are a...
". The hole argument was invented for slightly different purposes by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
late in 1913 as part of his quest for the general theory of relativity (GTR). It was revived and reformulated in the modern context by John3 (a short form for the "three Johns": John Earman, John Stachel
John Stachel
John Stachel is an American physicist and philosopher of science.Stachel earned his PhD at Stevens Institute of Technology in Physics about a topic in General relativity in 1958...
, and John Norton).
With the GTR, the traditional debate between absolutism and relationalism
Relationalism
-Relationalism :Relationalism in a border sense applies to any system of thought that gives importance to the relational nature of reality...
has been shifted to whether or not spacetime
Spacetime
In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space as being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort from the spatial dimensions...
is a substance, since the GTR largely rules out the existence of, e.g., absolute positions. The "hole argument" offered by John Earman is a powerful argument against spacetime substantivalism.
This is a technical mathematical argument but can be paraphrased as follows:
Define a function
as the identity function over all elements over the manifoldManifold
In mathematics , a manifold is a topological space that on a small enough scale resembles the Euclidean space of a specific dimension, called the dimension of the manifold....
, excepting a small neighbourhood (topologyTopology
Topology is a major area of mathematics concerned with properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, such as deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...
)
belonging to . Over , comes to differ from identity by a smooth function.With use of this function
we can construct two mathematical models, where the second is generated by applying to proper elements of the first, such that the two models are identical prior to the time , where is a time function created by a foliationFoliation
In mathematics, a foliation is a geometric device used to study manifolds, consisting of an integrable subbundle of the tangent bundle. A foliation looks locally like a decomposition of the manifold as a union of parallel submanifolds of smaller dimension....
of spacetime, but differ after
.These considerations show that, since substantivalism allows the construction of holes, that the universe must, on that view, be indeterministic. Which, Earman argues, is a case against substantivalism, as the case between determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
or indeterminism
Indeterminism
Indeterminism is the concept that events are not caused, or not caused deterministically by prior events. It is the opposite of determinism and related to chance...
should be a question of physics, not of our commitment to substantivalism.
Works in progress
- "Do the Laws of Physics Forbid the Operation of a Time Machine?" (with Christopher Smeenk).
- "The Emperor's New Theory: The Semantic/Models View of Theories."
- "Sharpening the Electromagnetic Arrow(s) of Time."
- "Pruning Some Branches from 'Branching Spacetimes'."
- "Models for an Evolving Block Universe."