Time Symmetry in Three Dimensions

CRISTIAN LÓPEZ

Ginebra

Congreso; EPSA 2019; 2019

The aim of this presentation is to assess the role that time symmetry plays in philosophy of physics and metaphysics of time in drawing metaphysical conclusions about the nature of time. I shall pursue my analysis in light of the following questions: (i) What is symmetry supposed to be predicated of?, (ii) What is any symmetry transformation supposed to act upon and to perform?, and (iii) What role is any symmetry supposed to play in physical theories? I propose that all three questions should be analyzed along three dimensions: (a) modal, (b) metaphysical, and (c) heuristic. In particular, I argue that questions (i)-(iii), when looked through these three dimensions, admit of divergent answers that may steer our understanding of time symmetry towards different directions. This, I conclude, leads to different consequences for philosophical concerns that have heavily relied on the notion of time symmetry, for instance, whether time is objectively directed.