Time's Arrows Today: Recent Physical and Philosophical Work on the Direction of Time - Hardcover

9780521461115: Time's Arrows Today: Recent Physical and Philosophical Work on the Direction of Time

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521461111 ISBN 13: 9780521461115

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1995

While it may seem indisputable that time flows in a linear fashion (from past to future), there are a number of philosophical and physical objections to this notion. In the quest to make sense of this conundrum, philosophers and physicists confront fascinating and irresistible questions such as whether effects can precede causes, and whether one can travel in time. In this book, eleven eminent scholars who stand at the boundary between physics and philosophy attempt to answer these questions. There are chapters by W. Unruh and H. Price on cosmology; A. Leggett, P. Stamp, and S. McCall on quantum theory; M. Barrett, E. Sober, and L. Sklar on thermodynamics, and P. Horwich and J. Earman on time travel. The book will be enjoyed by anyone of a speculative turn of mind fascinated by the puzzle of time.

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Book Description:

While experience tells us that time flows from the past to the present and into the future, a number of philosophical and physical objections exist to this commonsense view of dynamic time. In this book, researchers from both physics and philosophy attempt to answer these issues in an interesting, yet rigorous way.

From the Back Cover:

While it seems manifest in our experience that time flows - from the past to the present moment and into the future, there are a number of philosophical and physical objections to this commonsense view of dynamic time. In the quest to make sense of this conundrum philosophers and physicists confront fascinating and irresistible questions such as: Can effects precede causes? Can one travel in time? Can the expansion of the universe or the process of measurement in quantum mechanics provide a direction of time? In this book eleven eminent scholars, standing at the boundary between physics and philosophy, attempt to answer these questions in an entertaining yet rigorous way. For example, William Unruh's chapter is one of the first non-technical essays by this important cosmologist and Huw Price discusses critically the exciting cosmological views of Hawking and Penrose. Philip Stamp and Anthony Leggett discuss macroscopic quantum phenomena, a subject which has not been discussed much outside the specialist literature. John Earman's paper on time travel is likely to become one of the landmarks in the literature. The book will be enjoyed by anyone of a speculative turn of mind fascinated by the puzzles of time.

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