

115 - Craig Callender & Tim Maudlin: Time Travel, Time’s Arrow, and The Block Universe
Jul 16, 2023
Craig Callender and Tim Maudlin, leading philosophers of science and physics, join Robinson to delve into the philosophy of time, discussing the reality of the past, present, and future, the direction of time, and its relationship to relativity and quantum mechanics. They explore the A-Theory and B-Theory of time, concepts like presentism, eternalism, and the four-dimensional view of time. They also touch on non-locality in quantum mechanics, measuring time in relativity, and the purpose of theorizing about time travel. Plus, they discuss the compatibility of time travel with physics and make a pitch for the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics.
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Block Universe is Neither Static nor Changing
- The block universe is neither static nor changing because it is not in time itself.
- Time exists within the block universe, so concepts like static or change do not apply at that level.
McTaggart's A and B Series Explained
- McTaggart's A-series orders events by past, present, and future with an indexical 'now'.
- The B-series orders events by earlier-later relations independent of 'now', showing different conceptual roles in understanding time.
Temporal Asymmetry and A/B Series
- The A series presupposes a fundamental temporal asymmetry separating past from future, while the C series denies such asymmetry.
- The difference between A and B series involves linguistic indexicals, not competing metaphysical theories of time.