1

In general, a process has many causes, which are said to be causal factors for it, and all lie in its past (more precise: none lie in its future).

What does it mean for a process that at least one of its causal factors lie in the future?

my question is based on the concept of quantum retrocausality, where a decision made in our experience of the present may influence what we experience as the past.

Achmed
  • 441
  • 1
  • 3
  • 9
  • Buying a car in future is causing me to save money now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causality – christo183 Nov 20 '18 at 08:09
  • As it stands, "quantum retrocausality", or similar effect in the Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory is just a mathematical trick of representing current state as a superposition of "retarded" and "advanced" solutions, where the latter look mathematically as if they "come from the future". It is a nice symmetric presentation, but in both cases the superpositions obey the usual causality. So physically, it does not mean anything. See Wikipedia's Retrocausality. – Conifold Nov 20 '18 at 21:51
  • 2
    @christo183 - Yes, but wanting to but a car in the future is a current cause, not a future cause. –  Nov 21 '18 at 12:47
  • @PeterJ I'm saving now, in case I want to buy a car in future? – christo183 Nov 22 '18 at 05:47

0 Answers0