Author(s)

Chengan Wang ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ The Village School, Houston, TX, USA

Corresponding Author

Chengan Wang

ABSTRACT

This essay aims to demonstrate the thought trajectory from Newton's absolute space to Einstein's theory of relativity, and it will also emphasize the pivotal role of Leibniz's concept of space and Mach's philosophical extension of that. At first, Newton described space and time as eternal constants, providing an unchanging framework for physical phenomena. On the contrary, Leibniz argued that space and time cannot exist without the relations among objects and sequences of events. This argument formed one of the most significant philosophical disputes in the early scientific world. Philosophers began to scrutinize the subtle connection and conflict between substantivalism and relationism. The debate continued until the 19th century, when physicist Ernst Mach challenged the unobservable assumptions of Newtonian mechanics. He supported Leibniz's opinion and proposed that inertia and motion must be understood in relation to the total distribution of matter in the universe. According to his opinion, absolute space and time are unnecessary, since emphasis should be placed on observation and experience. This also provides a foundation for people to think about physics in a new way. Einstein later built his special and general theories of relativity based on these philosophical ideas. His theory offered a new understanding of the universe by combining space and time into a system. In this system, changes depend on matter and energy. His conclusion and achievements are inseparable from the conflicting contributions of the previous scientists.

KEYWORDS

Theory of Relativity, Absolute Space and Time, Mach's Principle

CITE THIS PAPER

Chengan Wang. The debate over absolute and relational space in the history of physics. Modern Physical Chemistry Research (2026) Vol. 6, No.1, 10-14. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mpcr.2026.060102.

REFERENCES

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[3] Leibniz, G. W., Clarke, S., & Ariew, R. (2000). Leibniz and Clarke: correspondence. Hackett Publishing.
[4] Evangelidis, B. (2018). Space and Time as Relations: The Theoretical Approach of Leibniz. Philosophies, 3(2), 9. 
[5] Mach, E. (2025). The science of mechanics. In Scientific Methodology in Nineteenth Century Britain (pp. 209-224). Routledge.
[6] DiSalle, R. (2006). Understanding space-time: The philosophical development of physics from Newton to Einstein. Cambridge University Press.
[7] Lin, M. (2016). Leibniz on the Modal Status of Absolute Space and Time. Noûs, 50(3), 447–464. 
[8] Barbour, J. B., & Pfister, H. (Eds.). (1995). Mach's principle: from Newton's bucket to quantum gravity (Vol. 6). Springer Science & Business Media.
[9] Hoefer, C. (2021, July 19). Absolute and relational space and motion: Classical theories. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition). Retrieved December 13, 2025
[10] Einstein, A. (1916). The foundation of the general theory of relativity. Annalen Phys, 49(7), 769-822.
[11] Rodriguez-Pereyra, G. (2014). Leibniz's principle of identity of indiscernibles. OUP Oxford.
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