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Inverse View
It is not the case that The parsimony principle favors Mach's ontology: relative motion between bodies is foundational, not derivative of a prior structural framework.
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Reasons For
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Reason for
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1.
Rotation produces real centrifugal effects distinguishable from inertial motion—suggesting a non-relative inertial frame exists.
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2.
Relative-only ontology struggles to ground the laws of motion themselves without some structural framework to explain regularities.
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3.
Modern spacetime geometry (general relativity) is itself a structural framework; Mach's view merely displaces rather than eliminates it.
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Reasons Against
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Reason against
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1.
Absolute space/time require unobservable entities; relative motion needs only observable bodies, reducing ontological commitment.
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2.
Physics equations (Newton, Einstein) depend only on relative quantities between objects, not background coordinates.
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3.
Mach's view eliminates the conceptual problem of explaining what absolute space/time exist independently of all physical content.
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