PIRSA:11100058

Arguments for the Emergence of Spacetime Topology

Belot, G. (2011). Arguments for the Emergence of Spacetime Topology. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/11100058

Belot, Gordon. Arguments for the Emergence of Spacetime Topology. Perimeter Institute, Oct. 27, 2011, https://pirsa.org/11100058 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:11100058,
            doi = {10.48660/11100058},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/11100058},
            author = {Belot, Gordon},
            keywords = {},
            language = {en},
            title = {Arguments for the Emergence of Spacetime Topology},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2011},
            month = {oct},
            note = {PIRSA:11100058 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Gordon Belot University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

DOI 10.48660/11100058
Collection
Talk Type Conference

Abstract

It is widely held that string theory shows that spacetime geometry and topology are emergent rather than fundamental. Often it is said that this follows from the various interesting dualities that exist within string theory. I will discuss the argument from duality, contrasting it with older arguments for the non-objectivity of spatiotemporal topology. I hope that this will clarify some questions about the role of spacetime in string theory---and about the differences between the ways that philosophers and physicists approach these questions.