Space, Time and Causality: Royal Institute of Philosophy Conferences Volume 1981

by Richard Swinburne (Editor)

The Royal Institute of Philosophy has been sponsoring conferences in alter­ nate years since 1969. These have from the start been intended to be of interest to persons who are not philosophers by profession. They have mainly focused on interdisciplinary areas such as the philosophies of psychology, education and the social sciences. The volumes arising from these conferences have included discussions between philosophers and distinguished practitioners of other disciplines relevant to the chosen topic. Beginning with the 1979 conference on 'Law, Morality and Rights' and the 1981 conference on 'Space, Time and Causality' these volumes are now constituted as a series. It is hoped that this series will contribute to advancing philosophical understanding at the frontiers of philosophy and areas of interest to non-philosophers. It is hoped that it will do so by writing which reduces technicalities as much as the subject-matter permits. In this way the series is intended to demonstrate that philosophy can be clear and worthwhile in itself and at the same time relevant to the interests of lay people.

228 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1982

About the author

Richard G. Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years Swinburne has been a very influential proponent of natural theology, that is, philosophical arguments for the existence of God. His philosophical contributions are primarily in philosophy of religion and philosophy of science. He aroused much discussion with his early work in the philosophy of religion, a trilogy of books consisting of The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason.

Reviews

[Lucas G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays originally presented at the Royal Institute of Philosophy Conference in 1981. It contains eleven essays and is broken down into five sections. Each essay is written by a different author.*

The first section discusses the difference between absolute and relative spacetime. The first essay is a defense of the existence of absolute spacetime. It is followed by two responses essays.

The second and third sections address time and its connection to causation. Two of these essays explore how causation itself is related to spacetime and the different methods if identifying causation in spacetime. The other two essays both deal with the asymmetry of time and causation, though they approach the topic from different angles.

The fourth section contains two essays about the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. This is the idea that particles don't have specific properties until they are observed.

The fifth and final section contains two essays that each seek to provide a path forward for understanding the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox. At a high level, the EPR Paradox refers to the phenomenon of faster than light causation between particles. It is phenomenon that results from quantum mechanics. Thse two essays are by far the most technical in the entire book. In contrast to the previous essays, these final two probably require graduate level physics knowledge in order to fully grasp.

If you're interested in the philosophy of physics, this collection is worth reading. Though the price of the book is excessive, so I would recommend renting it instead of buying it (unless you get it at a significant discount). It is also worth emphasizing that this book is 40 years old, so most topics addressed in the included essays are probably expanded on in more recent publications. Nevertheless, these essays are intriguing and insightful on their own.

*The essay by J.L. Mackie is likely one of the last things he ever wrote. He died in the months between the conference and the publication of this collection.