Does a Low-Entropy Constraint Prevent Us from Influencing the Past?

Frisch, Mathias (2007) Does a Low-Entropy Constraint Prevent Us from Influencing the Past?.

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Abstract

David Albert (2000) and Barry Loewer (2007) have argued that the temporal asymmetry of our concept of causal influence or control is grounded in the statistical mechanical assumption of a low-entropy past. In this paper I critically examine Albert's and Loewer's accounts.

Keywords:Causation, Time, Thermodynamics, Past-Hypothesis
Subjects:General Issues: Causation
General Issues: Reductionism/Holism
Specific Sciences: Physics: Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
ID Code:3390
Deposited By:Frisch, Mathias
Deposited On:24 June 2007