空洞论证与时空本性-建构主义视角的评述

The Hole Argument and the Nature of Space-time——A Critical Review from a Perspective of Constructivism

在1930年关于实在本性问题的讨论中,爱因斯坦清楚表达的观点——"真理必须被看作一种其正确性不以人为转移的真理",与泰戈尔同样明确宣布的"宇宙的真理就是人的真理"的观点是针锋相对的。通过对爱因斯坦在1915年阐述广义相对论时所作的空洞论证的批判性考察,我们发现时空实在是人类逐步建构的结果:从非常抽象的前时空的康德形式,到日益具体的时空实在,似乎是与泰戈尔的智慧一致的。从抽象到具体的上升的社会实在建构涉及的不是黑格尔的逻辑范畴,而是物理实在、事件与过程。这个结论似乎与爱因斯坦的"超人类客观性的宗教信仰"一致。

During great conversation between Einstein and Tagore in 1930, Einstein's clearly stated view that'Truth must be conceived as a Truth that is valid independent of humanity'is in sharp constrast with Tagore's equally stated view that'the Truth of the Universe is human Truth'. After critical examination of Einstein's hole argument leading to his 1915 formulation of the general relativity, we find that the reality of space-time is the result of stepwise human construction: from the very abstract Kantian form of pre-space-time to a more and more concrete reality of space-time, which seems to be in line with Tagore's wisdom. What are involved in the social construction of ascendance from the abstract to the concrete are not the Hegelian logical categories, but physical entities, events and processes. This conclusion seems in line with Einstein's 'religious belief in super-human objectivity'.