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Causation Bridges the Two Times

Andersen, Holly (2023) Causation Bridges the Two Times. Timing and Time Perception, 12 (2). pp. 119-124.

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Abstract

The two-times problem, where time as experienced seems to have distinctive features different than those found in fundamental physics, appears to be more intractable than necessary, I argue, because the two times are marked out from the positions furthest apart: neuroscience and physics. I offer causation as exactly the kind of bridge between these two times that authors like Buonomano and Rovelli (forthcoming) are seeking. It is a historical contingency from philosophical discussions around phenomenology, and a methodological artefact from neuroscience, that most studies of temporal features of experience require subjects to be sufficiently still that their engagement with affordances in the environment can be at best tested in artificial and highly constrained ways. Physics does not offer an account of causation, but accounts of causation are tied to or grounded in physics in ways that can be clearly delineated. Causation then serves as a bridge that coordinates time as experienced, via interaction with affordances in the environment, with time in physics as it constrains causal relationships. I conclude by showing how an information-theoretic account of causation fits neatly into and extends the information gathering and utilizing system (IGUS) of Gruber et al. (Front. Psychol., 13, 718505).


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Andersen, Hollyholly_andersen@sfu.ca
Keywords: causation, time, time perception, temporal experience, affordances
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Action
General Issues > Causation
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
General Issues > Explanation
Specific Sciences > Neuroscience
Specific Sciences > Physics
Specific Sciences > Psychology
Depositing User: Dr. Holly Andersen
Date Deposited: 04 Jun 2025 13:07
Last Modified: 04 Jun 2025 13:07
Item ID: 25536
Journal or Publication Title: Timing and Time Perception
Publisher: Brill
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1163/22134468-bja10097
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1163/22134468-bja10097
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Action
General Issues > Causation
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
General Issues > Explanation
Specific Sciences > Neuroscience
Specific Sciences > Physics
Specific Sciences > Psychology
Date: 6 November 2023
Page Range: pp. 119-124
Volume: 12
Number: 2
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25536

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