Abstract
In the thesis “space is three-dimensional” we treat space linguistically exactly as we treat the moon or the Eiffel Tower in the sentences “the moon is spherical” and “the Eiffel Tower stands in Paris.” The grammatical correctness of the three sentences and our familiarity in ordinary language with such sentences suggests to us that space is an object in the same way that the moon is a natural object and the Eiffel Tower is an artificial object. This means that the linguistic form of the thesis creates the appearance of substantiality, as if “there were” a proper thing about which we can make statements concerning when it is found, where, and what its other properties are.
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References
W. Büchel (1965), pp. 151–156
As when a “conceptual operative definition” is suggested by P. Mittelstaedt (Klassische Mechanik,Mannheim, 1970) without a corresponding procedure of realization - e.g., for inertial systems. This leads to a complete misunderstanding of actual operational approaches. (Cf. P. Mittelstaedt: Der Zeitbegrif in der Physik,Mannheim/Wien/Zürich, 1976, p. 145.)
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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Janich, P. (1992). Knowledge about Space. In: Euclid’s Heritage: Is Space Three-Dimensional?. The University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science, vol 52. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8096-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8096-0_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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