What Can We Learn about the Ontology of Space and Time from the Theory of Relativity?

Abstract

Many have inferred from the theory of relativity philosophical conclusions that are unjustified, such as that geometry is conventional or that spacetime should be reduced to the causal order among events. Other conclusions from the theory are justified, such as the "entanglement" of space with time and that space and time are deeply connected to matter and to the causal structure of the world. This chapter discusses what exactly the theories of special and general relativity tell us about space and time. What are the features that are genuinely novel, that follow from the new theories, that are part and parcel of a literal understanding of the theories, and that are robust in the sense of not being faced with contradictory "morals" that can also be drawn from these new theories? Oxford University Press, 2015