This paper pushes back against the Democritean-Newtonian tradition of assuming a strict conceptual dichotomy between spacetime and matter. Our approach proceeds via the more narrow distinction between modified gravity/spacetime (MG) and dark matter (DM). A prequel paper argued that the novel field $\text{Φ}$ postulated by Berezhiani and Khoury’s ‘superfluid dark matter theory’ is as much (dark) matter as anything could possibly be, but also—below the critical temperature for superfluidity—as much (of a modification of) spacetime as anything could possibly be. Here we introduce and critically evaluate three groups of interpretations that one should consider for such Janus-faced theories. The consubstantiality interpretation holds that $\text{Φ}$ is both (dark) matter and a modification of spacetime, analogously to the sense in which Jesus (according to catholicism) is both human and god. The fundamendalist interpretations consider for each of these roles whether they are instantiated fundamentally or emergently. The breakdown interpretations focus on the question of whether $\text{Φ}$ signals the breakdown, in some sense to be specified, of the MG-DM dichotomy and perhaps even the broader spacetime–matter distinction. More generally, it is argued that hybrid theories urge a move towards a single space of theories, rather than two separate spaces of spacetime theories and matter theories, respectively.

本文推翻了Democritean-Newtonian传统，即在时空与物质之间采取严格的概念二分法。我们的方法是通过修正重力/时空（MG）和暗物质（DM）之间的更窄区别来进行的。前传文章认为小说领域$\text{Φ}$Berezhiani和Khoury的“超流体暗物质理论”提出的假设是，任何事物都可能具有尽可能多的（暗）物质，但是，在超流体的临界温度以下，时空也应尽可能多地（对时空进行修改）。在这里，我们介绍并批判性地评估三组解释，对于这组面对Janus的理论，应该考虑其中的三组。实质性解释认为$\text{Φ}$既是（黑暗的）物质，也是时空的改变，类似于耶稣（根据天主教）既是人类又是神的意义。原教旨主义者的解释为这些角色中的每一个都考虑了是从根本上还是紧急地实例化它们。细目分类解释着重于是否$\text{Φ}$从某种意义上说，这标志着MG-DM二分法甚至可能是更广泛的时空-物质区别的崩溃。更普遍地说，有观点认为，混合理论促使人们朝着单一理论空间迈进，而不是分别朝着时空理论和物质理论的两个独立空间迈进。