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The fate of causal structure under time reversal

Williams, Porter (2022) The fate of causal structure under time reversal. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 37 (1). pp. 87-102. ISSN 0495-4548

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Abstract

What happens to the causal structure of a world when time is reversed? At first glance it seems there are two possible answers: the causal relations are reversed, or they are not. I argue that neither of these answers is correct: we should either deny that time-reversed worlds have causal relations at all, or deny that causal concepts developed in the actual world are reliable guides to the causal structure of time-reversed worlds. The first option is motivated by the instability of time-reversed dynamical evolutions under interventions. The second option is motivated by a recognition of how contingent structural features of the actual world shape our causal concepts and reasoning strategies.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Williams, Porterporterwi@usc.edu0000-0003-0242-4045
Additional Information: ISSN: 0495-4548 (print)
Keywords: causality, causal structure, reversed time, causal concepts, intervention
Subjects: General Issues > Causation
General Issues > Explanation
Depositing User: Unnamed user with email theoria@ehu.es
Date Deposited: 15 May 2022 03:50
Last Modified: 15 May 2022 03:50
Item ID: 20612
Journal or Publication Title: THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science
Publisher: Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del País Vasco
Official URL: https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/THEORIA/article/view...
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1387/theoria.22841
Subjects: General Issues > Causation
General Issues > Explanation
Date: 2022
Page Range: pp. 87-102
Volume: 37
Number: 1
ISSN: 0495-4548
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20612

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