Product Description
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… More >>
Time’s Arrows Today: Recent Physical and Philosophical Work on the Direction of Time
Tags: arrows, conundrum, eminent scholars, linear fashion, philosophers, philosophical work, physicists, physics and philosophy, time flows, time product
#1 by Anonymous on June 28, 2010 - 10:39 am
The nature of time is one of the oldest and most basicquestions in Western philosophy;
since we are all destined to growolder and watch irreversible changes in our bodies, and
we are all aware that we will eventually die, it is probably a basic and inherent question in
all philosophical systems. Whoever tries to understand the nature of time must explain
two of its apparent characteristics: it seems to be unidirectional and unchanging. This
perhaps explains the name of this book, which is concerned not only with the direction of
time but also with time’s essential nature. This book is one of a large number on the
subject which have been published recently. I haven’t read the others, being more
familiar with earlier discussions of the question, but I have two remarks to make about
this one: Anyone who doesn’t read it is missing something, and the general level of
academic philosophy has greatly improved in the last few years, which I’ve noticed in
other books as well.
Most of the articles in this collection are good, but I particularly enjoyed four of them.
The first is Savitt’s historical overview of modern discussions of the direction of time,
which is just that, and excellent.
The second is Unruh’s discusssion of the new role of time in general relativity and
quantum mechanics. Unruh begins by by saying the Newton “tells us that it is
unnecessary to define time, but then proceeds to do just that”. Unruh misunderstands
Newton, who indeed leaves time undefined; what Unruh thinks is a definition is a
warning not to confuse physical time, which needs no substrate, with common concepts
of time based on recurrent phenomena in concrete objects. It’s when Unruh talks about
relativistic time that he really comes into his own. He explains that gravitation is an
inherent consequence, an epiphenomenon, of the concept of spacetime. Few of his
colleagues try to explain what gravity is, one of the really basic questions; they delude
themselves into thinking they have done so when they have really only described anew
how is behaves quantitatively. He also has a section on time in quantum mechanics
which can serve as an ultrashort introduction to some of the basic concepts of that entire
subject.
The second of Sklar’s articles here is mainly a critique of attempts to explain perceived
time in terms of entropy. Most of his objections can be countered by replacing the
concept of entropy in systems external to the person by that of neurochemical systems
which are inherently asymmetrical under physiological constraints, but his discussion is
deep and enlightening.
Barrett and Sober point out that entropy, the most popular word in modern explanations
of time, “is well-defined [only] for chambers of gases”, and proceed to construct an
abstract mathematical concept of entropy which will also be useful in discussions of time.
In addition to everything else, most of the articles in this book, including these four, are
beautifully literate, written by and for educated people. Anybody with an interest in
time, or metaphysics generally, will profit from and enjoy reading it. Only elementary
mathematics, if any, is really necessary.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Anonymous on June 28, 2010 - 11:40 am
The nature of time is one of the oldest and most basic questions in Western philosophy;
since we are all destined to grow older and watch irreversible changes in our bodies, and
we are all aware that we will eventually die, it is probably a basic and inherent question in
all philosophical systems. Whoever tries to understand the nature of time must explain
two of its apparent characteristics: it seems to be unidirectional and unchanging. This
perhaps explains the name of this book, which is concerned not only with the direction of
time but also with time’s essential nature. This book is one of a large number on the
subject which have been published recently. I haven’t read the others, being more
familiar with earlier discussions of the question, but I have two remarks to make about
this one: Anyone who doesn’t read it is missing something, and the general level of
academic philosophy has greatly improved in the last few years, which I’ve noticed in
other books as well.
Most of the articles in this collection are good, but I particularly enjoyed four of them.
The first is Savitt’s historical overview of modern discussions of the direction of time,
which is just that, and excellent.
The second is Unruh’s discusssion of the new role of time in general relativity and
quantum mechanics. Unruh begins by by saying the Newton “tells us that it is
unnecessary to define time, but then proceeds to do just that”. Unruh misunderstands
Newton, who indeed leaves time undefined; what Unruh thinks is a definition is a
warning not to confuse physical time, which needs no substrate, with common concepts
of time based on recurrent phenomena in concrete objects. It’s when Unruh talks about
relativistic time that he really comes into his own. He explains that gravitation is an
inherent consequence, an epiphenomenon, of the concept of spacetime. Few of his
colleagues try to explain what gravity is, one of the really basic questions; they delude
themselves into thinking they have done so when they have really only described anew
how is behaves quantitatively. He also has a section on time in quantum mechanics
which can serve as an ultrashort introduction to some of the basic concepts of that entire
subject.
The second of Sklar’s articles here is mainly a critique of attempts to explain perceived
time in terms of entropy. Most of his objections can be countered by replacing the
concept of entropy in systems external to the person by that of neurochemical systems
which are inherently asymmetrical under physiological constraints, but his discussion is
deep and enlightening.
Barrett and Sober point out that entropy, the most popular word in modern explanations
of time, “is well-defined [only] for chambers of gases”, and proceed to construct an
abstract mathematical concept of entropy which will also be useful in discussions of time.
In addition to everything else, most of the articles in this book, including these four, are
beautifully literate, written by and for educated people. Anybody with an interest in
time, or metaphysics generally, will profit from and enjoy reading it. Only elemantary
mathematics, if any, is really necessary
Rating: 5 / 5