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    Kretschmann's point establishes that any physical law can... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→It would be impossible to realign the earth and the fixed stars such that both are at rest with the coordinate system of the plasticine

    Kretschmann's point establishes that any physical law can be reformulated in a generally covariant form, making coordinate-invariant impossibility claims suspect.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Mathematical reformulation in covariant form doesn't require physical change, so covariance alone cannot establish physical possibility or necessity.
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    • 2.Many impossibility claims rely on coordinate-dependent formulations; Kretschmann shows we must distinguish mathematical from physical constraints.
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    • 3.If any law admits covariant reformulation, coordinate-specific 'impossibility proofs' beg the question by assuming a particular formalism matters physically.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Covariant reformulation is trivial (adding dummy variables); it doesn't show theories with different physical content are equivalent or both possible.
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    • 2.Some impossibility claims concern causal structure or symmetry principles, not coordinate choice—these survive covariant reformulation unchanged.
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    • 3.Kretschmann conflates 'expressible covariantly' with 'physically realizable'; mathematical elegance doesn't alter what nature permits or forbids.
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    Connections

    2 topics

    Causation1 linkedModality & Possibility1 linked

    Related

    Covariant reformulation is trivial (adding dummy variables); it doesn't show the...If any law admits covariant reformulation, coordinate-specific 'impossibility pr...It would be impossible to realign the earth and the fixed stars such that both a...Kretschmann conflates 'expressible covariantly' with 'physically realizable'; ma...
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    Many impossibility claims rely on coordinate-dependent formulations; Kretschmann...Mathematical reformulation in covariant form doesn't require physical change, so...Some impossibility claims concern causal structure or symmetry principles, not c...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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