Abstract
Does the need to find a quantum theory of gravity imply that the
gravitational field must be quantized? Physicists working in quantum gravity routinely
assume an affirmative answer, often without being aware of the metaphysical
commitments that tend to underlie this assumption. The ambition of this article
is to probe these commitments and to analyze some recently adduced arguments
pertinent to the issue of quantization. While there exist good reasons to
quantize gravity, as this analysis will show, alternative approaches to gravity
challenge the received wisdom. These renegade approaches do not regard
gravity as a fundamental force, but rather as effective, i.e. as merely
supervening on fundamental physics. I will urge that these alternative accounts at
least prove the tenability of an opposition to quantization.
_http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00001972/01/PSA2004WuthrichPittServer
.pdf_
(http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00001972/01/PSA2004WuthrichPittServer.pdf)
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