Thoughts on the Tractatus and Causation
by Dennis J. Darland
August 13, 2009
Last revised 13.08.2009 05.42 time
Copyright © 2009 Dennis J. Darland

Prerequisite: watch Leonard Susskind on Phase Space

1. The totality of states of affairs determine one position (at one time) a position in phase space.
   
2. From that all positions in phase space in the future and past are determined.
   
3. This means that the states of affairs at one time gives the states of affairs at any time.
   
4. States of affairs are non-temporal.
   
5. The laws of nature are internal relations between the manifestation of the same states of affairs at different times.
   
6. States of affairs might be taken as sufficient initial conditions at any time - to predict conditions at any other time.
   
7. The individual initial conditions are all independent of each other.
   
8. There should be a "time independent" way of specifying any complete set of initial conditions.
   
9. Any complete set of initial conditions is one point in phase space - at some time
   
10. A totality of states of affairs (set of initial conditions at any time) plus some (other) time gives the conditions at that (other) time.
    
11. When analyzed into elementary propositions, the statement that conditions at one time follow from those at another time is analytic.
    
12. Material objects, etc. are logical fictions.
    
13. When analyzed, apparent causal laws are tautologies.
    
14. Time is unreal.
    
15. Causal laws are structured relations - relations between logical fictions.
    
16. When elementary propositions are placed in truth tables the probability of each is equal (0.5) and probabilities may be computed.
    
17. When compound propositions are placed in truth tables, getting probabilities requires breaking the compound propositions into elementary propositions.
    
18. Placing structured relations between logical fictions may result in tautologies.
    

Back to Top