Causatonas Folk Science.ppt

* * * * * * * * * How could a principle of causality pick out the “true” forward direction? Time reversibility of electrodynamics. Any feature of “forward” system has a perfect correlate in the “reversed” system. Forward Reversed Reversed Forward Add a factual time direction to spacetime? … but both processes assembled from pieces that are locally time reversible. Allow them locally but prohibit assembly? 陪萍怀花搓睬遗琵因外姆奠弛烙乓凡非刑宪缓啄奶贪柠豹沽希谆歧高乡咆Causatonas Folk ScienceCausatonas Folk Science * What precisely does the principle of causality say? Must be precise enough to be applied in a computation in mathematical physics. “An effect cannot temporally precede its cause.” Which state is the effect and which the cause, in any process with states that evolve over time? The cause comes earlier? That makes the principle true by definition. What counts as a cause? An effect? States over time? At an instant? Which hypersurface of simultaneity? What sorts of processes are properly causal? “Causal” means later states depend on earlier? What of Lagrange principles that pick out motions by extremizing the entire history? 求甘千贩峭太锑厨词檬获堪姥鹰鳞枚银羽支奎浴尉剪启屎评憨煎盲宝董悬Causatonas Folk ScienceCausatonas Folk Science * Conclusion 滋闺卸郑惨呕敞矣铡刊帛祖券诀笨嘘冯筋申成灰诲疲善废窗无灶耐忿谣租Causatonas Folk ScienceCausatonas Folk Science * Principal Claims Negative Thesis Denial of causal fundamentalism, which asserts that the world is governed by a principle of causality. Positive Thesis Sciences restricted to hospitable domains adopt forms of various folk sciences of causation, which explains the prevalence and utility of causal notions. Modern Physics Causal anti-fundamentalism is compatible with the widespread presence of causal terms and principles in modern physics. Failure of any stable, factual principle of causality to emerge from our science. Folk sciences generated by same mechanism that gives us gravitational forces and caloric. Causal talk arises as part of assuring that processes respect the light cone structure of spac