Causality

In General > s.a. Determinism.
* 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.
* History: Francis Bacon considered causality as a mechanical relationship, as opposed to an abstract one.
* Related concepts: Arguments by design (> see cosmology).
@ 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 a0803 [and freedom of choice]; Pearl 09; Coecke & Lal a1010-wd [time asymmetry, quantum information processing]; Ellis a1212-FQXi [top-down causation].
@ Causation: Ma FdP(00)qp/99-proc; Dowe PhSc(04)dec [conserved quantity theory]; Corry PhSc(06)jul [revision avoiding Bertrand Russell's arguments].
@ Principle of common cause: Henson SHPMP(05)qp/04 [quantum mechanics]; Mazzola FP(12).
@ Probabilistic causality: Price BJPS(91); Twardy & Korb PhSc(04)jul; Dzhafarov & Kujala JMPsy-a1110; Zaopo a1209 [causal relations as observer-dependent].
@ 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]; > s.a. Explanation; paradigms in physics.
> 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 v_f.
* 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]; > 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].
@ 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 [v_g < 0]; Smolyaninov JO-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 > see causality in quantum theory [including information causality]; causality violation; locality; Retrocausation; tachyons; time; velocity.

Action-at-a-Distance Theories > s.a. locality.
* History: The idea was favored in the 1930s by John Wheeler and Richard Feynman as an alternative to field theory.
@ General references: & Fokker; Hoyle & Narlikar 74, 96; Hardy CP(98) [in quantum mechanics]; Sidharth in(99)gq/98; Henry SHPSA(11), Ducheyne SHPSA(11) [Newton's views].
@ Electrodynamics: Wheeler & Feynman RMP(49); Hoyle & Narlikar RMP(95); Hollander & De Luca PRE(03)mp [2-body problem]; Ibison AP(06); De Luca a0901 [variational principle]; Pietsch SHPMP(10) [how to allow for action at a distance].
@ And special relativity: Wigner (71); Medvedev NTF(77); Louis-Martinez PLB(06)ht/05, PLA(07)ht/06 [relativistic], FP(12)-a1104 [and field theories].

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