Time's Arrows Today: Recent Physical and Philosophical Work on the Direction of Time [Paperback]

Steven F. Savitt (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0521599458 | ISBN-13: 978-0521599450

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book juxtaposes articles by physicists and philosophers...four major themes of the book: quantum mechanics, the measurement problem, cosmology, and the arrow of time...One of the most useful articles in this collection, a previously published essay by philosopher Lawrence Sklar, discusses attempts to derive time asymmetry from kinetic theory." David Layzer, American Journal of Physics

"I heartily recommend this collection to anyone, philosopher or scientist, interested in the direction of time. Many of the papers make significant contributions to the field, and I found almost all of them quite interesting. I am confident this book will emerge as a standard text in the philosophy of time." Craig Callender, Canadian Philosophical Review

"In this excellent collection of well-documented works by eminent scholars on the direction of time, fundamental questions concerning the nature of time are discussed....With its highly original material written by professional physicists and philosophers, it will be understood by upper division undergraduates, graduate students and faculty." C.H. McGruder III, Choice

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (June 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521599458
• ISBN-13: 978-0521599450
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,418,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book., April 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Time's Arrows Today: Recent Physical and Philosophical Work on the Direction of Time (Paperback)

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.