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AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik

AGPhil 4: Quantum Gravity 3

AGPhil 4.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 18, 2024, 17:00–17:45, PTB SR AvHB

Out of nowhere: loop quantum gravity and spacetime functionalism — •Christian Wüthrich — University of Geneva, Switzerland

Quantum gravity is of great interest to the philosopher of nature: the conceptions of space and time arising from our manifest image of the world have already been challenged by general relativity, and adding quantum effects to the mix promises to add significant complications. As it turns out, most approaches to quantum gravity suggest that our world is ultimately neither spatial nor temporal. How can one conceptualize such a non-spatiotemporal world? How can space and time not be fundamental, but instead emerge from a non-spatiotemporal structure just as the liquidity of water emerges from molecules which are themselves not liquid? Using loop quantum gravity, an approach to quantum gravity based on a canonical quantization of general relativity, I will illustrate these questions, and argue how a philosophical approach known as `spacetime functionalism' contributes to their resolution.

Keywords: loop quantum gravity; spacetime emergence; spacetime functionalism; spin network states; weave states