Critical Discussion on the Planète Astronomie Forum
These links refer to a selection of my main contributions to this french discussion. They trace the development of my reflection on a possible new approach to spacetime and on the philosophical insights it may provide into the foundations of physics. From each of these posts, the contributions of the other participants can easily be found in the original discussion.
Discussion Method Time Aristotle and Inertia Causality Shuttle & Missile Relational Approach A Logical Contradiction in Relativity?Veiled Reality and Levels of Abstraction in Physics Where Exactly Does the Contradiction Lie?From Relative Simultaneity to InconsistencyResponse to Some Objections Concerning SimultaneityThe Distinction Betwen Absolute Simultaneity and Absolute TimeRelational Length ContractionRelational Approach and Ether TheoryUniversal Present and Proper TimesFrom Mathematical Formalism to Physical InterpretationAbsolute Simultaneity and the Speed of Light-1Speed of Light and Velocity CompositionFrom Einstein's Train to the Shuttle Missile ObjectionThe Relativity of Simultanity and the Existence of MissileIn the Light of the Principle of Non-ContradictionPrinciples of Logic in Response Externo-AIAbsolute Simultaneity Rests on the Very Existence of BeingLogigal Progession of the ArgumentationIntellectus and RatioThe Invariance of c and the Block Universe in Light of the Shuttle and Missile Objection-1The Invariance of c and the Block Universe in Light of the Shuttle and Missile Objection-2Positions of the Main ParticipantsAbsolute Simultaneity and the Speed of Light-2The Invariance of c and the Block Universe in Light of the Shuttle and Missile Objection-3To Avoid Dwellling Too Long on the Block UniverseTowards a Theory of the Universe: The Articulation Between Worldview, Mathematical Formalism, and ExperimentationTowards a Progressive Relationnal Understanding of Velocity CompositionDifference Between a Scientific Fact and a PostulateFrom Fundamental Concepts to Derived Concepts: A Necessary ClarificationOne-Way or Round-Trip Speed of Light: A Fondamental DistinctionA Little Argumentation Is Still NecessaryWhat the De Sitter Experiment Actually ShowsDe Sitter Experiment, Lorentz Ether, and Relationnal Approach to SpaceEther or a Relational Approach: What explanatory Scope?Mechanical Interaction and Relational Structure: A Necessary ClarificationUniversal Present, the Changing State of the Universe, and the Driving Principle of ChangePhysical Reality and Mathematical Formulation: A Distinction to PreserveCan Light Be Reduced to a Wave in an Ether?The Relationship between the “What is it?” and the “How?” Why going beyond Einstein’s interpretation also requires going beyond Lorentz’s interpretationOn the Relativity of Time and the Perpendicular Propagation of LightCan Clifford Geometry Provide a Foundation for Physical Concepts?Distance Contraction, Light Propagation, and the Limits of the Lorentzian InterpretationOn the Equivalence or Non-Equivalence of Inertial Frames of ReferenceDoes Motion Require a Presently Acting Cause?The Tidal Effect: Physical Proof That Not All Motions Are EquivalentThe Question of Inertia and Gravitation in an Ether TheoryTo externo: What Moves in Your Ether Theory? To externo: What Is a Celestial Body in Your Model?Externo's Conception of the Ether Put to the Test of the Equivalence Principle To Externo: Isn't Your Ether Gradually Evolving Toward the Idea of Space Quanta? Conceptual Foundations of a General Theory of the Universe Why Is a Possible Error in the Relativistic Framework So Difficult to Identify?