  The self-interaction spin-2 approach to general relativity (GR) has been
extremely influential in the particle physics community. Leaving no doubt
regarding its heuristic value, we argue that a view of the metric field of GR
as nothing but a stand-in for a self-coupling field in flat spacetime runs into
a dilemma: either the view is physically incomplete in so far as it requires
recourse to GR after all, or it leads to an absurd multiplication of
alternative viewpoints on GR rendering any understanding of the metric field as
nothing but a spin-2 field in flat spacetime unjustified.
