Spacetime Relationalism and Classical Fields

Andrew Wayne (Department of Philosophy, University of Guelph)

Abstract

Many fundamental theories in physics are theories in which physical fields play key causal and explanatory roles. What ontology for field theories can underwrite these roles? Two familiar responses are that fields are properties of a substantial substratum and that fields are bundles of properties. This paper argues that both responses are inadequate and goes on to develop a novel ontology on which fields are made up of bundles of tropes (particularized property instances). On this trope-bundle ontology, fields are composed of trope kernels which bear external compresence relations with other fields and objects. A simple example of a static electric field illustrates how a trope-bundle field produces and explains forces on physical objects. Because the trope-bundle ontology does without spacetime substance of any kind, it provides significant new support for relationalism about spacetime.