  When compared to quantum mechanics, classical mechanics is often depicted in
a specific metaphysical flavour: spatio-temporal realism or a Newtonian
"background" is presented as an intrinsic fundamental classical presumption.
However, the Hamiltonian formulation of classical analytical mechanics is based
on abstract generalized coordinates and momenta: It is a mathematical rather
than a philosophical framework. If the metaphysical assumptions ascribed to
classical mechanics are dropped, then there exists a presentation in which
little of the purported difference between quantum and classical mechanics
remains. This presentation allows to derive the mathematics of relativistic
quantum mechanics on the basis of a purely classical Hamiltonian phase space
picture. It is shown that a spatio-temporal description is not a condition for
but a consequence of objectivity. It requires no postulates. This is achieved
by evading spatial notions and assuming nothing but time translation
invariance.
