Space

The concept of space has been of interest for philosophers and scientists for much of human history. The term is used somewhat differently in different fields of study, hence it is difficult to provide an uncontroversial and clear definition outside of specific defined contexts. more...

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Disagreement also exists on whether space itself can be measured or is part of the measuring system. (See Space in philosophy.) Science considers space to be a fundamental quantity (a quantity which can not be defined via other quantities because other quantities — like force and energy — are already defined via space). Thus an operational definition is used in which the procedure of measurement of space intervals (distances) and the units of measurement are defined.

In philosophy

Space has a range of definitions:

One view of space is that it is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a set of dimensions in which objects are separated and located, have size and shape, and through which they can move.; A contrasting view is that space is part of a fundamental abstract mathematical conceptual framework (together with time and number) within which we compare and quantify the distance between objects, their sizes, their shapes, and their speeds. In this view, space does not refer to any kind of entity that is a "container" that objects "move through".;

These opposing views are relevant also to definitions of time. Space is typically described as having three dimensions, see Three-dimensional space and that three numbers are needed to specify the size of any object and/or its location with respect to another location. Modern physics does not treat space and time as independent dimensions, but treats both as features of space-time – a conception that challenges intuitive notions of distance and time.

An issue of philosophical debate is whether space is an ontological entity itself, or simply a conceptual framework humans need to think (and talk) about the world. Another way to frame this is to ask, "Can space itself be measured, or is space part of the measurement system?" The same debate applies also to time, and an important formulation in both areas was given by Immanuel Kant.

In his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant described space as an a priori intuition that (together with another a priori intuition, time) allows us to comprehend sensual experience. Kant referred to such intuitions as noumena and as things in themselves. In Kant's view, neither space nor time are conceived of as substances, but rather both are elements of a systematic framework we use to structure our experience. Spatial measurements are used to quantify how far apart objects are, and temporal measurements are used to quantify how far apart events occur. However, these measurements are applied by our minds to categorize what we sense and are not an inherent part of the thing in itself.

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