Backwards Causation and the Direction of Causal Processes

Although Hans Reichenbach would not have accepted the thesis presented here, this paper is in several ways inspired by his philosophy, and in particular by his book The Direction of Time (Reichenbach 1956). Firstly, this paper addresses an important metaphysical question the significance of which Reichenbach was the first to appreciate, namely, what exactly is it that constitutes the direction of causation. I will focus here on causal processes, and approach the question from that angle: what is it that constitutes the direction of a causal process? Secondly, the approach will be to follow a tradition, exemplified by Reichenbach, of tackling a metaphysical question via a careful study of contemporary science and its implications for metaphysics. I begin here with brief presentation of a recent solution to one of the deep problems in quantum mechanics involving Bell phenomena: the backwards in time causality model. I wish to examine the implications of this physical model for the philosophical question about the direction of causal processes, and in particular to use it as a premise in the assessment of various philosophical theories of the direction of causation. Thirdly, I will be proposing and defending a version of Reichenbach's own theory about the direction of causation, the fork asymmetry account. I will defend this general account against some recent criticisms, and I will use the premise of backwards causation as a tool to defend my particular version of the fork account. This argument will not convince philosophers who reject the idea of backwards causation, of course; the paper is aimed primarily at those who accept it. However, it turns out that the conjunction of the backwards model of Bell phenomena and the favoured fork theory suggests a general formula for an empirical test, which, if positive, would provide reason to reconsider the rejection of backwards causation.

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