{"product_id":"out-of-nowhere-christian-wuethrich-9780198758501","title":"Out of Nowhere: The Emergence of Spacetime in Theories of Quantum Gravity","description":"The two fundamental pillars of physics for over 100 years have been quantum theory and general relativity, but their unification at short distances remains elusive, both technically and conceptually. This work is a philosophical investigation of the second kind of problem, and in particular of the striking fact that in many approaches to 'quantum gravity' classical spacetime structures are not merely quantized, but arguably absent—so that spacetime is not merely a classical limit, but 'emergent'. This issue is not only central to the problem of quantum gravity, but of deep significance for our philosophical understanding of physical reality, promising a conceptual revolution at least as profound as Einstein's. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNick Huggett and Christian W?thrich explore the question of spacetime emergence, for philosophers of metaphysics and science, and argue for spacetime functionalism as the answer to seeing how something non-spatiotemporal could ever appear as space and time. More technical chapters investigate the issue in detail for causal set theory, loop quantum gravity, and string theory, and the book also serves as a philosophical introduction to those theories for philosophers of physics. \u003cem\u003eOut of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e helps physicists clarify what new conceptual framework—not resting on space and time—may be necessary to achieve a theory of quantum gravity. This book also shows philosophers how the world may not be spatiotemporal at root, and what kind of a world we might then live in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Christian Wuethrich, Nick Huggett\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0198758502\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780198758501\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/20\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Christian Wuethrich","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46721518993663,"sku":"9780198758501","price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c73d3795-a992-4815-ae77-3de8618d7d48.jpg?v=1742753107","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/out-of-nowhere-christian-wuethrich-9780198758501","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}