Dimensionality, Symmetry, and the Inverse Square Law

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Notes and Records: Royal Society Journal of the History of Science 75 (3):333-348 (2020)
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Abstract

Kant suggested that Newton’s Inverse Square Law (ISL) determines the dimensions of space to be three. Much has been written in the philosophical literature about Kant’s suggestion, including specific arguments attempting to link the ISL to three-dimensionality. In this paper, we explore one such argument and demonstrate that it fails to support the link Kant purports to make between the ISL and the three-dimensionality of space. At best, the link that can be made is between the ISL and symmetry.

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Dimitria Gatzia
University of Akron

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