Peter Evans: "Causal Symmetry and the Transactional Interpretation"
Abstract: Cramer's transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics posits retrocausal influences in quantum processes in an attempt to alleviate some of the interpretational difficulties of the Copenhagen interpretation. In response to Cramer's theory, Maudlin has levelled a significant objection against any retrocausal model of quantum mechanics. I present here an examination of the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics and an analysis of Maudlin's critique. I claim that, although Maudlin correctly isolates the weaknesses of Cramer's theory, his justification for this weakness is off the mark. The cardinal vice of the transactional interpretation is its failure to provide a sufficient causal structure to constrain uniquely the behaviour of quantum systems and I contend that this is due to a lack of causal symmetry in the theory. In contrast, Maudlin attributes this shortcoming to retrocausality itself and emphasises an apparently fundamental incongruence between retrocausality and his own metaphysical picture of reality. I conclude by arguing that the problematic aspect of this incongruence is Maudlin's assumptions about what is appropriate for such a metaphysical picture. Wednesday 29 September, 11:30am, Philosophy Common Room, Main Quad. All welcome. Please see http://bit.ly/SydFop for the latest program. *HUW PRICE* | ARC Federation Fellow & Challis Professor of Philosophy Centre for Time | SOPHI | Faculty of Arts THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY P Centre for Time, Main Quad A14, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia T +61 2 9351 4057 | F +61 2 9351 3918 E [email protected] | W http://sydney.edu.au/centre_for_time/
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