Causation and Other Asymmetries in Time

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Creator

Loew, Christian
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Philosophy

Abstract

We tend to think that the past brings about, produces, or shapes the future but not vice versa. Yet, most candidates for the fundamental physical laws are time-symmetric: these laws determine the evolution of the world in the forward direction, but they equally determine its evolution in the backward direction. I argue that, in light of this lawful time-symmetry, causation itself is bi-directional, that is, causation runs forwards but it also runs backwards. This view might sound absurd, but it follows from taking fundamental physics seriously. I argue that causation is law-governed, and so the time-symmetry of the laws grounds causation in both temporal directions. Moreover, my bi-directional view of causation is compatible with our experience. In fact, it provides a deeper understanding than previously had of why we can control the future but not the past and why scientific explanations are time-asymmetric.

Date of publication