Time's Arrows Today
Time's Arrows Today
$60.00
USDWhile 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 an attempt to make sense of this conundrum, philosophers and physicists are forced to confront fascinating 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 define a direction in time? In this book, researchers from both physics and philosophy attempt to answer these issues in an interesting, yet rigorous way. This fascinating book will be of interest to physicists and philosophers of science and educated general readers interested in the direction of time.
- The direction of time is a very hot subject in both philosophy and physics
- Interdisciplinary approach
- Contains original contributions of a seminal nature, for example, Earman's paper on time travel is likely to become one of the landmarks of the literature
- Accessible to general readership looking for a challenging read
Reviews & endorsements
"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
Product details
June 1997Paperback
9780521599450
348 pages
247 × 175 × 19 mm
0.705kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part I. Cosmology and Time's Arrow:
- 1. Time, gravity, and quantum mechanics W. Unruh
- 2. Cosmology, time's arrow, and that old double standard H. Price
- Part II. Quantum Theory and Time's Arrow:
- 3. Time's arrow and the quantum measurement problem A. Leggett
- 4. Time, decoherence, and 'reversible' measurements P. Stamp
- 5. Time flows, non-locality, and measurement in quantum mechanics S. McCall
- 6. Stochastically branching spacetime topology R. Douglas
- Part III. Thermodynamics and Time's Arrow:
- 7. The elusive object of desire: in pursuit of the kinetic equations and the second law L. Sklar
- 8. Time in experience and in theoretical description of the world L. Sklar
- 9. When and why does entropy increase? M. Barrett and E. Sober
- Part IV. Time Travel and Time's Arrow:
- 10. Closed causal chains P Horwich
- 11. Recent work on time travel J. Earman.
