Is the B-theory of Time Presupposed by Relativity?

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The discussion centers on the relationship between the B-theory of time and the theory of relativity. Participants express skepticism about the necessity of B-theory for a coherent understanding of relativity, particularly in light of the role of light-cones in modeling cause and effect. The conversation highlights that while relativity allows for individual events to have past and future, it does not impose a global notion of time. Ultimately, the lack of testable predictions from either theory suggests that both can coexist without definitive resolution.

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  • Understanding of special relativity concepts, particularly light-cones.
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  • Knowledge of the relativity of simultaneity in physics.
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  • Research the implications of light-cones in special relativity.
  • Explore the philosophical arguments for and against B-theory of time.
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Is it possible to assume relativity is still basically correct and reject the b-theory of time? Or does a coherent description of relativity necessarily presuppose it?

I find b-theory so repugnant.

Thanks,
Chris
 
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kq6up said:
Is it possible to assume relativity is still basically correct and reject the b-theory of time? Or does a coherent description of relativity necessarily presuppose it?

I find b-theory so repugnant.

Thanks,
Chris

Looking up "B-theory" in wikipedia, it appears to be a philosophical position regarding time. Obviously I haven't studied this issue much if I had to look up what "B-theory" was :(.

While I can't answer your question, I can say is that cause and effect in special relativity is modeled through the mechanism of light-cones. Any individual event in space-time has a past (the past light cone), a future(the future light cone), and a 4-dimensonal set of events which are neither past, nor future, usually called "space-like separated events".

Any pair of space-like separated events (in which neither event is inside the lightcone of the other) will be seen as simultaneous for some observer. Different observers will disagree on their notions of simultaneity (as per relativity of simultaneity).

While individual events have a past and a future, there isn't any global notion of "past", "future", or "present" imposed by the theory.

I would suspect if the issue is still being argued over that there isn't any actual resolution of the philosophical issues. Most likely neither theory makes testable predictions, which is what we look for in science and distinguishes science from philosophy. With no testable predictions, there's no way to say that A or B is "wrong", so I would expect that you should be able to do relativity in either A or B philosophy. But perhaps not with equal ease.

Sorry I couldn't answer your question, I hope my more general remarks were still of interest.
 
Sorry, but we don't discuss philosophy here.
 

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