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The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 2009 60(3):487-495; doi:10.1093/bjps/axp031
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© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for the Philosophy of Science. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Causality and Dispersion: A Reply to John Norton

Mathias Frisch

University of Maryland, College Park mfrisch{at}umd.edu


  Abstract

Classical dispersion relations are derived from a time-asymmetric constraint. I argue that the standard causal interpretation of this constraint plays a scientifically legitimate role in dispersion theory, and hence provides a counterexample to the causal skepticism advanced by John Norton and others. Norton ([2009]) argues that the causal interpretation of the time-asymmetric constraint is an empty honorific and that the constraint can be motivated by purely non-causal considerations. In this paper I respond to Norton's criticisms and argue that Norton's skepticism derives its force partly by holding causal principles to a standard too high to be met by other scientifically legitimate constraints.

  1. Introduction
  2. Non-causal Foundations?
  3. Other Grounds for Skepticism
  4. The Principle of Energy Conservation


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J. D. Norton
Is There an Independent Principle of Causality in Physics?
Brit J Philos Sci, September 1, 2009; 60(3): 475 - 486.
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