Causality| Causality |
In General > s.a. causality in quantum theory [including
information causality and indefinite causal structures]; causality violation;
determinism; locality.
* Idea: Explanations are
given in terms of efficient/physical cause, as opposed to final cause
(teleology); Often associated with predictability; The dominant paradigm
is the "machine", a deterministically predictive one, despite
setbacks from thermodynamics, special relativity, and quantum mechanics
(Prigogine); Should be modified, according to him, to allow for
self-organization and creation of order in non-linear dissipative
systems and non-equilibrium thermodynamics.
* Rem: Causality implies conservation
of identity, a far from simple notion; It imposes strong demands on the universalizing
power of theories concerned, often met by the introduction of a metalevel which
encompasses the notions of 'system' and 'lawful behaviour'; In classical mechanics,
the division between universal and particular leaves its traces in the separate treatment
of kinematics and dynamics; > s.a. Dynamics
[synthesis between kinematics and dynamics].
* History: Francis Bacon considered
causality as a mechanical relationship, as opposed to an abstract one.
@ General references: Fermi RMP(32);
Margenau PhSc(34)apr;
Bohm 57; Svechnikov 71;
Jones AJP(96)mar [RL];
Hunter et al ed-98;
Dowe & Noordhof 04;
Hájíček phy/06 [and liberty];
Ross & Spurrett BJPS(07) [notions of cause and Russell];
Butterfield BJPS-a0708 [stochastic Einstein locality];
Janzing a0708
[asymmetry between cause and effect, Occam's razor, and thermodynamics];
Hájíček GRG(09)-a0803 [and freedom of choice];
Pearl 09;
Coecke & Lal a1010-wd [time asymmetry, quantum information processing];
Ellis a1212-FQXi [top-down causation];
Coecke et al a1711
[the time-reverse of any causal theory is eternal noise];
Chvykov & Hoel Ent(21)-a2010 [geometric approach to information in causal relationships].
@ Causation: Ma FdP(00)qp/99-proc;
Dowe PhSc(04)dec [conserved quantity theory];
Corry PhSc(06)jul
[revision avoiding Bertrand Russell's arguments];
Kistler 06.
@ Other conceptual, philosophical:
Mehlberg IJTP(69) [vs determinism];
Salmon PhSc(94)jun,
PhSc(97)sep;
Eckhardt SHPMP(06) [and irreversibility];
Cat PhSc(06)jan [fuzzy];
Smith BJPS(07)
[relationship between causal dependence and causal laws];
Frisch BJPS(09) [role of causality];
Norton BJPS(09),
reply Frisch BJPS(09);
Verelst a1203
[analysis, application to theories of Newton and Leibniz];
Rédei & San Pedro SHPMP(12)-a1204 [inequivalent causality principles];
Vidunas Axiom(18)-a1707 [delegated causality in complex systems];
> s.a. Explanation; paradigms in physics.
> Four causes:
see Efficient (Moving) Cause; Final Cause;
Formal Cause; Material
Cause; Marc Cohen's page.
> Online resources:
see Wikipedia page.
In Classical Theories > s.a. causal structures;
causality conditions; dispersion [Kramers-Kronig
relations]; geometry; spacetime subsets.
* Classical field theory:
Expressed by the support of Green functions or the Kramers-Kronig dispersion
relations, or vf.
* General relativity:
For matter propagation, built in by the requirement that spacetime
satisfy a causality condition.
@ General references: de Souza ht/97,
BJP(02)ht/00,
Bergqvist & Senovilla CQG(99)gq [field theory];
Patricot ht/04 [and symmetries];
Triacca PLA(07) [Granger causality for stochastic processes];
Yuffa & Scales EJP(12) [electrodynamics, and linear response];
Ajaib a1302
[physical vs numerical causality, and the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition];
Baumeler & Wolf NJP(16)-a1507 [classical processes without causal order];
Weaver a2011 [causation and Hamiltonian mechanics];
> s.a. field theory.
@ k-essence: Bruneton PRD(07) [and MOND and other modified theories];
Babichev et al JHEP(08)-a0708.
@ In relativity and gravity: Jacobson in(91) [general relativity];
Rohrlich AJP(02)apr [and electromagnetism];
Bertolami & Lobo NQ-a0902;
Kochiras SHPSA(09) [Newton's causal and substance counting problems];
Reall a2101 [gravitational theories].
@ And dispersion relations:
Wigner ed-64;
Nussenzveig 71;
Fearn & Gibb qp/03.
@ Wave propagation:
Bonilla & Senovilla PRL(97) [gravity in vacuum];
Mitchell & Chiao AJP(98)jan [vg < 0];
Smolyaninov JO(13)-a1210 [metamaterial model of causality];
> s.a. electromagnetism.
> Related topics: see gauge choice
[causality and gauge in electromagnetism]; gravitating matter [and the speed of sound].
Related Topics > s.a. Retrocausation;
tachyons; time; velocity.
* Causality vs correlations:
Statistical and causal information are related, but causal information
goes beyond correlations.
* Principle of common cause:
The idea that simultaneous correlated events must have prior common causes,
first made precise by Hans Reichenbach in 1956; It can be used to infer the
existence of unobserved and unobservable events, and to infer causal relations
from statistical relations; It may not be universally valid (there is no
agreement as to the circumstances in which it is valid), and its validity
is questionable in quantum mechanics (because quantum statistics violates
Bell's inequalities, variables serving as common causes cannot exist); If there
is a separate common cause for both, the correlation disappears when probabilities
are conditioned to the common cause; > s.a. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
page.
* Emergent causality: In one
proposal, information is seen as a more fundamental concept than the laws of
physics, which leads to a different understanding of spacetime where causality
emerges from correlations between random variables representing physical quantities.
* Other related concepts: Arguments
by design (> see cosmology).
@ Causality vs correlations:
news pt(14)nov [information flow, and application].
@ Principle of common cause: Reichenbach 56;
Henson SHPMP(05)qp/04,
reply to comment SHPMP(13) [quantum mechanics];
Mazzola FP(12);
Hofer-Szabó et al 13 [r CP(14)#3];
Cavalcanti & Lal JPA(14)-a1311 [modifications in light of Bell's theorem];
Mazzola & Evans FP(17)-a1703 [existence of Reichenbachian common cause systems];
> s.a. causality in quantum theory.
@ Emergent causality: Baumeler & Wolf ISIT(14)-a1312,
a1602
[intrinsic definition of randomness, and complexity];
Rossi & Souza a1901 [in quantum mechanics].
@ Probabilistic causality:
Price BJPS(91);
Twardy & Korb PhSc(04)jul;
Dzhafarov & Kujala JMPsy-a1110;
Zaopo a1209 [causal relations as observer-dependent];
Zhang BJPS(13)
[connection between causality and probability].
@ Other generalizations: Choudhury & Mondal TMP(13) [almost causality, reflecting and distinguishing spacetimes];
Minguzzi RVMP(18)-a1709 [causality with non-round cones];
Milburn & Shrapnel a2009 [causal perspectivalism];
> s.a. causality conditions.
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