Abstract
The paper tries to demonstrate that the process of the increase of entropy does not explain the asymmetry of time itself because it is unable to account for its fundamental asymmetries, that is, the asymmetry of traces (we have traces of the past and no traces of the future), the asymmetry of causation (we have an impact on future events with no possibility of having an impact on the past), and the asymmetry between the fixed past and the open future, To this end, the approaches of Boltzmann, Reichenbach (and his followers), and Albert are analysed. It is argued that we should look for alternative approaches instead of this, namely we should consider a temporally asymmetrical physical theory or seek a source of the asymmetry of time in metaphysics. This second approach may even turn out to be complementary if only we accept that metaphysics can complement scientific research programmes.
Highlights
The Asymmetry of Time and the Asymmetry in TimeCitation: Gołosz, J
The problem of the direction or the asymmetry of time itself consists in answering the question of whether the world is truly temporally asymmetrical and in finding an explanation of what is responsible for this asymmetry
Would like to show that despite these high hopes, the process of the increase of entropy is not up to the task, that is, it explains none of the three abovementioned temporal asymmetries. This will be demonstrated by means of the well-known examples from Boltzmann, Reichenbach, and Albert, namely that the increase of entropy is unable to explain the asymmetry of traces, the asymmetry of causation, and the asymmetry between the fixed past and the open future, and it should only be treated as a process that is asymmetrical in time
Summary
Contrary to this, using different examples in the second section of this paper, I would like to show that despite these high hopes, the process of the increase of entropy is not up to the task, that is, it explains none of the three abovementioned temporal asymmetries This will be demonstrated by means of the well-known examples from Boltzmann, Reichenbach (and his followers), and Albert, namely that the increase of entropy is unable to explain the asymmetry of traces, the asymmetry of causation, and the asymmetry between the fixed past and the open future, and it should only be treated as a process that is asymmetrical in time
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