
arXiv: 2307.07856
Albert and Callender have challenged the received view that theories like classical electrodynamics and non-relativistic quantum mechanics are time reversal invariant. They claim that time reversal should correspond to the mere reversal of the temporal order of the instantaneous states, without any accompanying change of the instantaneous state as in the standard view. As such, Albert and Callender claim, these theories are not time reversal invariant. The view of Albert and Callender has been much criticized, with many philosophers arguing that time reversal may correspond to more than the reversal of the temporal order. In this paper, we will not so much engage with that aspect of the debate, but rather deflate the disagreement by exploiting the ontological underdetermination. Namely, it will be argued that with a suitable choice of ontology, these theories are in fact time reversal invariant in the sense of Albert and Callender, in agreement with the standard view.
19 pages, no figures, LaTex, to appear in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
Quantum Physics, History & Philosophy Of Science, Arts & Humanities, 5003 Philosophy, FOS: Physical sciences, 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields, 5002 History and philosophy of specific fields, 2203 Philosophy, History and Philosophy of Physics, Science Studies, History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph), History & Philosophy of Science, Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
Quantum Physics, History & Philosophy Of Science, Arts & Humanities, 5003 Philosophy, FOS: Physical sciences, 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields, 5002 History and philosophy of specific fields, 2203 Philosophy, History and Philosophy of Physics, Science Studies, History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph), History & Philosophy of Science, Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
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