Question

Definition of causal determination at issue.Assume that the past and half the present function as constants relative to a variable future. The past/part of the present determine the future mathematically in the sense of solving for the variable of the future. The four-dimensionalism consideration.Imagine a world consisting in a single tesseract whose fourth coordinate slot is timelike. Without supposing an absolute past, present, or future, we have all facets of the tesseract given in atemporal simultaneity. It seems as if no facet, taken to be pastwise, solves for other facets as variables, since no facetisa variable as such. All facets are determined at once by whatever function projects the whole tesseract at a glance. We can't step outside the tesseract (if we're inside of it) to say that the unit cause of the entire structure is itself an effect of a prior cause, etc. Perhaps this is possible in general, but for reasons of local empirical-causal closure, this fact transcends our possible empirical knowledge. And logically, it is impossible to predetermine the content of an information powerset from prior information sets; there is always underdeterminately more in an indefinite powerset than is in its base. So there is noa prioriguarantee of determination either. Question: so what use is the concept of causal determination in a four-dimensionalist closed world?

Answer 1

In a four-dimensionalist closed world, causal determination suggests a predetermined universe where time is just another dimension.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of causal determination in a four-dimensionalist closed world, which views time as another dimension like the three spatial dimensions, challenges traditional notions of causality. Under a four-dimensional view, every event in the universe is fixed within this spacetime framework, leading to a perspective where the flow of time does not influence the determination of events. Instead, all points in time, past, present, and future, are laid out in a block universe, where causal relationships are seen more as correlations within this four-dimensional tapestry, rather than as a standard sequence of cause and effect.

Determinism in a four-dimensionalist perspective suggests a closed system where everything is predetermined because of the atemporal relationships between events; just as the three spatial dimensions are given at once, so too is the timelike dimension. However, the potential lack of variability or openness for future events to be other than they are challenges our usual concepts of freedom and moral responsibility, as posited in hard determinism and compatibilism. The relevance and utility of causal determination in such a world might be to provide a framework for understanding the universe that eschews the need for free will, focusing instead on understanding the universe as a complete and ordered structure.

The perspectives on determinism, such as those of hard determinism, compatibilism, and indeterminism, offer different interpretations of this causal framework. The concept of causal determination can still be useful for predicting and explaining events even in a seemingly closed four-dimensional world because it helps create a structured understanding of the universe, even if it limits the notion of individual agency and free will.