Nonlocal causation in Maxwell theory
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PresentationAuthor/s
Weinstein, StevenAbstract
Maxwell's equations were the inspiration for special relativity and the principle of relativistic "causality", whereby spacelike-separated events are understood to be causally independent. In this talk, I will show that one of Maxwell's equations actually implies a form of nonlocal causation - causation between what are nominally causally independent events - and show that this sort of causation, while not susceptible to an interventionist or counterfactual analysis, is crucial for many everyday attributions of causal connectednessMaxwell's equations were the inspiration for special relativity and the principle of relativistic "causality", whereby spacelike-separated events are understood to be causally independent. In this talk, I will show that one of Maxwell's equations actually implies a form of nonlocal causation - causation between what are nominally causally independent events - and show that this sort of causation, while not susceptible to an interventionist or counterfactual analysis, is crucial for many everyday attributions of causal connectedness
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Date
2006-07-21Publisher
Centre for Time, Department of Philosophy, University of Sydney.Licence
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