Non-Spacetime Quantum Gravity Theories and the Property Theory of Space

This essay will investigate the spatial ontology debate with regards to those quantum gravity theories that posit non-spatiotemporal elements from which spacetime emerges.Whereas substantivalism and relationism both fail to capture the ontology of these non-spatiotemporal theories, such as causal set theory or loop quantum gravity, the largely neglected property theory of space (spacetime) stands out as the best ontological classification, and it also accords with the standard ontological division into substances, properties, and relations.In addition, the property theory will be shown to offer advantages over other alternative approaches, such as structural realism or spacetime functionalism.