Foundational Issues Relating Spacetime, Matter, and Quantum Mechanics

This article proposes the following themes: 1. Space time must be discrete at the micro level. 2. Holonomy is central to any foundational approach to relating spacetime and quantum mechanics. 3. The gravitational field equations should be trace free: gravity is essentially a conformal theory. 4. Times passes; past, present, and future are fundamentally different. 5. Causation is not only bottom-up: contextual effects occur, associated with symmetry breaking 6. Theories must adequately take account of the quantum measurement issue 7. Penrose's entropy issue is a real issue for cosmology that must be taken into account.