Open AccessPerspectivism and Special Relativity
Author(s) -
Mahdi Khalili
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
teorie vědy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1804-6347
pISSN - 1210-0250
DOI - 10.46938/tv.2021.516
Subject(s) - perspectivism , theory of relativity , special relativity , einstein , simultaneity , property (philosophy) , theoretical physics , frame (networking) , frame of reference , reference frame , computer science , mathematics , physics , epistemology , classical mechanics , philosophy , telecommunications
The special theory of relativity holds significant interest for scientific perspectivists. In this paper, I distinguish between two related meanings of “perspectival,” and argue that reference frames are perspectives, provided that perspectival means “being conditional” rather than “being partial.” Frame-dependent properties such as length, time duration, and simultaneity, are not partially measured in a reference frame, but their measurements are conditional on the choice of frame. I also discuss whether the constancy of the speed of light depends on perspectival factors such as the idealized definition of the speed of light in a perfect vacuum and the Einstein synchronization convention. Furthermore, I argue for the view that the constancy of its speed is a robust property of light according to the conditions of currently acceptable experimental setups pertaining to special relativity, and conclude that this view supports perspectivism.