Abstract
We argue that if everything there is in the world is physical, then time has an objective direction. If the fundamental equations of motion are time reversal invariant we show that the direction of time cannot be explained by anything else in physics (e.g. the direction of processes in time) and therefore must be added to physics. We further argue that the direction of time gives rise to both the thermodynamic and the psychological arrows of time (whenever they exist), and that it is necessary in order to construct a meaningful Past Hypothesis in statistical mechanics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science |
| Editors | Yuval Dolev, Michael Roubach |
| Place of Publication | Cham |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Pages | 155-164 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-3-319-22590-6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-319-22589-0 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2016 |
Publication series
| Name | Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science |
|---|---|
| Volume | 285 |
| ISSN (Print) | 0068-0346 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 2214-7942 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements This research has been supported by the Israel Science Foundation, grant
Funding Information:
number 713/10, and by the German-Israel Foundation, grant number 1054/09.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
Keywords
- Direction of time
- Entropy
- Experience of the direction of time
- Past Hypothesis
- Second Law of Thermodynamics
- Time-reversal invariance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History and Philosophy of Science
- Literature and Literary Theory
- Anthropology
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)