New Publication by Antonio Vassallo in Synthese

We are pleased to announce that the paper “Shape Space as a Conceptual Space” by Antonio Vassallo has been published open access in Synthese. You can read the full article here.

This paper argues that the configuration space central to pure shape dynamics—shape space—should be understood not as a physical arena but as a conceptual space. Drawing on insights from the philosophy of cognitive science, the article examines how this reinterpretation addresses longstanding objections to relationalism and provides a fresh epistemic framework for understanding timeless, background-independent physics. Special attention is given to how this perspective helps reconcile the relationalist ontology with the intelligibility of physical evolution.