By real I mean something that is either a cause or an effect. By abstract I mean something that is the product of human thought. When a thought become realized, the thing it realizes is real, but the thought remains abstract. It is generally recognized that time is not a cause but a product of human thought. Humans decide that a second on Mars is 1.2 Earth seconds or whatever the number is. Humans decide at what time sunup occurs. Since time and space are interlinked I am inclined to think that space is causally inert. As far as the fact that space bends in the presence of massive objects, I have a hunch that the massive objects are emitting gravitons which causes other objects to move as if it appears that space is bending. As far as the fact that space is expanding I have a hunch that it is dark energy that it is pushing objects away from each other, rather than there space being some physical thing that is literally expanding. As far as whether space is flat, hyperbolic or, well, I forget the third type, I don’t exactly understand that. Unfortunately to really understand these issues you have to have knowledge of special and general relativity which I don’t. So any thoughts would be appreciated.
Space is a conceptual abstraction of a real potential.