David Albert is the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, director of the Philosophical Foundations of Physics program at Columbia, and a faculty member of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. This is David’s ninth appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. He last appeared on episode 221 to discuss the measurement problem of quantum mechanics. In this episode, David gives a pedagogical and introductory overview of the problem of time’s arrow, which is one of the most enduring of all physical and philosophical puzzles. David’s most recent book is A Guess at the Riddle (2023). If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.

A Guess at the Riddle: https://a.co/d/6qcsidl

The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org

OUTLINE

00:58 The Tension Between Past and Future in Physics

8:56 The Arrow of Time in Life and Physics

12:26 The Three Arrows of Time

18:12 Entropy and the Direction of Time

29:12 Thermodynamics and the Problem of the Past

38:26 Why Do We Remember the Past But Not the Future?

48:46 Two Ways to Understand the Past

1:04:21 Why Can We Affect the Future But Not the Past

1:17:51 Why Can Agents Control the Future but not the Past?

1:26:57 Can the Laws of Quantum Physics Be Run Backward?

1:33:11 The Connection Between the Foundations of Quantum Physics and Statistical Mechanics

1:41:53 Cosmology and the Past Hypothesis

1:44:25 Why are Left and Right Different from Past and Future?

1:49:28 The Difference Between Space and Time

1:57:14 Is Time a Fundamental Part of Reality?

1:59:14 Future Work

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University