NDLI: No End in Sight: Causal Loops in Philosophy, Physics and Fiction

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Hanley, Richard
Copyright Year	2004
Abstract	There have been many objections to the possibility oftime travel. But all the truly interesting ones concern the possibility of reversecausation. What is objectionable about reverse causation? I diagnose that the trulyinteresting objections are to a further possibility: that of causal loops. I raisedoubts about whether there must be causal loops if reverse causation obtains; but devote themajority of the paper to describing, and dispelling concerns about, various kinds ofcausal loop. In short, I argue that they are neither logically nor physically impossible.The only possibly objectionable feature that all causal loops share is that coincidenceis required to explain them. Just how coincidental a loop will be varies: some arereally quite ordinary, and some are incredibly unlikely. I end by speculating thatthe tendency amongst physicists to avoid discussion of causal loops involving intentionalaction may have been unfortunate, since intentional action is an excellent way tonon-mysteriously bring about what otherwise would have been an unlikely coincidence. Hencecausal loops may be more likely in a world with beings like us, than in one without.
Starting Page	123
Ending Page	152
Page Count	30
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00397857
Journal	Synthese
Volume Number	141
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	15730964
Language	English
Publisher	Kluwer Academic Publishers
Publisher Date	2004-01-01
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Philosophy Epistemology Logic Metaphysics Philosophy of Language
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Philosophy Social Sciences

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