Suppes Predicates for Space-Time |
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Authors: | da Costa Newton C. A. Bueno Otávio French Steven |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Philosophy, University of São Paulo, SP 05508-900, Brazil;(2) Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom;(3) Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT |
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Abstract: | ![]() We formulate Suppes predicates for various kinds of space-time: classical Euclidean, Minkowski's, and that of General Relativity. Starting with topological properties, these continua are mathematically constructed with the help of a basic algebra of events; this algebra constitutes a kind of mereology, in the sense of Lesniewski. There are several alternative, possible constructions, depending, for instance, on the use of the common field of reals or of a non-Archimedian field (with infinitesimals). Our approach was inspired by the work of Whitehead (1919), though our philosophical stance is completely different from his. The structures obtained are idealized constructs underlying extant, physical space-time. |
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