ABSTRACT
One major problem for the philosopher of space and time is the fact that scientists keep changing their minds. They do so when they make ‘revolutionary’ leaps from theory to theory; and they continue to do so as they develop the ideas of a given theory. Sometimes the end product of such a development might be just as revolutionary when compared with the original formulation of the theory as an entirely new theory. Sometimes the changes made are not quite so dramatic. All this leads us into difficulties. Which set of ideas should we investigate? Which theory tells us about the space and time of the actual world? Should we accept that we are part of a process leading towards the truth, but that we have a long way to go? Should we accept Stephen Hawking’s suggestion that the end of theoretical physics may be in sight? 1 Or should we take each theory with a pinch of salt: just one more invention of some rather brilliant mathematicians with nothing to say about the real world? Any attempt to answer such questions takes us firmly into the territory of the philosophy of science. But our deliberations about the nature of space and time may help us to understand how we might approach such questions.
