Scholars Award: The Structure of Spacetime: A New Approach to the Structure of Space-Time Controversy

学者奖：时空结构：时空结构争议的新方法

• 批准号: 1560075
• 负责人: Jill North
• 金额: $ 1.91万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2017-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1560075&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Scholars; Award; Structure; Spacetime; New

The investigator will engage in philosophical analysis in order to shed new light on a long-standing, ongoing debate over the existence and the nature of space-time. She will bring into consideration new results from physics (such as different theories of quantum gravity) and new insight from metaphysics (having to do with the notion of grounding, for example). The results of this study should serve to clarify the ontological commitments of the physical theories involved, and to advance understanding of the fundamental nature of the physical world. It will have far-reaching consequences for metaphysics (developing the notion of grounding in new contexts), philosophy of physics (drawing philosophical conclusions from recent work in quantum gravity), and philosophy of science (by exploring the relations between different levels of science). It will also introduce new and useful concepts that will serve to foster mutually beneficial communication between physicists and philosophers, who are substantially and increasingly engaged in collaborative efforts.The broader significance of this project relates to the investigator's multidisciplinary approach and her efforts to address the glaring under-representation of women in the fields of philosophy of science and the conceptual foundations of physics, which is a serious problem. The results of this study will be disseminated in a variety of multidisciplinary journals and conferences that engage the attention of philosophers, physicists, and historians of science. The research undertaken will enrich classes taught by the investigator and enhance her mentoring of students, in particular women students. She will use her influence to affect the gender balance of conferences she attends, and cultivate supportive relationships with junior women faculty in her area of expertise.

这位研究人员将进行哲学分析，以便为关于时空的存在和性质的长期、持续的辩论提供新的线索。她将考虑到物理学的新结果(例如量子引力的不同理论)和形而上学的新见解(例如，与基础概念有关)。这项研究的结果应该有助于澄清所涉及的物理理论的本体论承诺，并促进对物理世界根本性质的理解。它将对形而上学(在新的背景下形成扎根的概念)、物理哲学(从最近的量子引力工作中得出哲学结论)和科学哲学(通过探索不同科学水平之间的关系)产生深远的影响。它还将引入新的有用的概念，有助于促进物理学家和哲学家之间的互利交流，他们正在大量并越来越多地参与合作努力。该项目的更广泛的意义涉及研究人员的多学科方法及其努力，以解决妇女在科学哲学和物理学概念基础领域的代表性明显不足的问题，这是一个严重的问题。这项研究的结果将在引起哲学家、物理学家和科学史学家注意的各种多学科期刊和会议上传播。开展的研究将丰富调查员教授的课程，并加强她对学生，特别是女学生的指导。她将利用自己的影响力影响她参加的会议的性别平衡，并在她的专业领域与初级女性教职员工培养支持性关系。