PARTS OF SPACETIME

Consider the following pair of theses: (i) all fundamental physical objects are spatiotemporal and (ii) all non-fundamental physical objects are ultimately composed of fundamental objects. Work on the physics of quantum gravity suggests that spacetime is a non-fundamental, emergent phenomenon and thus that thesis (i) is false. The fundamentals are non-spatiotemporal in nature. This paper will argue against (ii) on the grounds that non-fundamental spatiotemporal objects cannot be composed of fundamental non-spatiotemporal objects. So, assuming that spacetime is emergent, new metaphysical resources are needed to explain the relationship between the fundamental objects posited by quantum gravity and spacetime.