"Negative Time": Can the Future Change the Past?

How do you unwind? For me, the best solution has always been switching gears. Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I was listening to a podcast about negative time. It was a challenge to stay awake, but I kept telling myself to remember to read and listen more about it in the morning. And sure enough, the first thing I did while making coffee was dive into an article from LiveScience .

Shall we dive in?

Quantum physicists discover 'negative time.' Physicists demonstrated that photons could appear to exit a material before even entering it, offering observational evidence of negative time. Ephraim Steinberg's team initially set out to measure the group delay—the time it takes for photons to interact with and excite atoms. Their findings defied conventional physics by revealing that photons could trigger atomic excitation without being absorbed as expected, and in some cases, they seemed to reverse the natural flow of time, creating the negative time effect.

This concept doesn't change our everyday understanding of time, but it highlights the strange nature of the quantum world, where particles behave in ways that challenge classical physics and our expectations.

But what if we look at the theory of negative time beyond the realm of physics? What would philosophers say, given their extensive debates and theories on cause and effect? Could this flip in the sequence be an intriguing point for philosophical inquiry?

In traditional philosophy, time is closely linked to causality—where events follow a logical sequence: causes precede effects. But negative time challenges this, suggesting that an effect could precede its cause. Philosophers of science may see this as a challenge to classical concepts and question whether this phenomenon is unique to quantum reality or if it could apply more broadly to our understanding of time.

Platonists' View:

Some philosophers, particularly Platonists, view time as an illusion or a part of limited human perception. For them, phenomena like negative time could serve as evidence that time doesn’t exist in an absolute sense but is simply a measurement humans use to organize events.

A New Look at the Future:

In some philosophical theories, such as the block universe theory, the future already exists alongside the past and present. The concept of negative time could support the idea that the future might influence the present or past, suggesting that time may not always follow a strict linear path.

Philosophical debates about negative time not only challenge traditional scientific paradigms but also broaden the scope of philosophical reflections on the nature of reality, time, and causality.

Philosophers of Our Time:

These modern philosophers are at the forefront of current discussions about the nature of time, seeking to merge classical metaphysics with the latest discoveries in physics:

• Robin Le Poidevin – A British philosopher specializing in the metaphysics of time. He explores questions like the relationship between time and space and whether time is an objective or subjective phenomenon. Le Poidevin is the author of "Travels in Four Dimensions," which examines various philosophical aspects of time and their connection to physics.
• Craig Callender – A professor of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, known for his studies on time in the context of physics and metaphysics. He addresses quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and time in his book "What Makes Time Special?" which discusses the unique features of time as a physical phenomenon.
• Emily Thomas – A philosopher who specializes in the metaphysics of time and space. She examines both traditional and modern approaches to the philosophy of time, including its perception through quantum physics and science.
• Julian Barbour – A British physicist and philosopher whose work focuses on time, relativity, and quantum gravity. Barbour claims that time itself does not exist and, in his book "The End of Time," offers a radical rethinking of our understanding of time.
• Hilary Greaves – A philosopher who works on issues in the philosophy of time and space, as well as the metaphysical aspects of quantum mechanics and relativity. Her work is tied to problems related to causality and temporal paradoxes.

*It's interesting that none of the mentioned philosophers have LinkedIn accounts, and many don't have any social media presence at all.

What makes time special for you?

The way it feels—this information resembles the fairy tales we were told as children. Yes, I know there are stories like the Grimm tales for adults, and perhaps this is one of those, or maybe it’s not!As the saying goes: "A fairy tale holds a hint of truth, and there’s a lesson in it for those who listen."