philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, absolute theory (or absolutism) usually refers to a theory based on concepts (such as the concept of space) that exist independently of other concepts and objects. The absolute point of view was advocated in physics by

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

."Absolute and Relational Theories of Space and Motion" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
/ref> It is one of the traditional views of space along with

relational theory Relationalism is any theoretical position that gives importance to the relational nature of things. For relationalism, things exist and function only as relational entities. Relationalism (philosophical theory) Relationalism, in the broadest se ...

and the

Kantian Kantianism () is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term ''Kantianism'' or ''Kantian'' is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mi ...

theory.

Overview

According to the absolute theory of space, it is a homogeneous structure which exists and is independent of other things. The Newtonian arguments of this theory, particularly those concerned with the

ontological Ontology is the philosophical study of being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of reality and every ...

status of space and time, had been related to the existence of God through the concepts of absolute space and absolute time. It was proposed that the universe was finite in extent and was said to have begun in time. Additionally, space exists prior to the body or matter that occupies it and it was held that the universe – as a finite object – is situated within it. The theory was also promoted by Newton's followers including

Samuel Clarke Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Clarke's altered, Nontrinitarian revision of the 1 ...

and

Roger Cotes Roger Cotes (10 July 1682 – 5 June 1716) was an English mathematician, known for working closely with Isaac Newton by proofreading the second edition of his famous book, the '' Principia'', before publication. He also devised the quadrature ...

during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Related theories

An absolute theory is the opposite of a

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...

, the main proponent of relational theory, argued that there is no absolute space and time. He maintained that space is not independent nor a container of the matter that occupies it, explaining that physical objects or forces are ordered spatially and that space is merely a system of relations. According to the relational theory, without objects, there is no space.

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

's theory of space also opposes the absolute theory, with the criticism that it is founded on

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

dichotomy of separated subject and object. He maintained that this nature keeps absolute theory from explaining the true nature of space.

References

{{Isaac Newton Philosophy of physics Theories