Reply To: Retrocausal Bohm Model

[Rod Sutherland]

Hi Ruth,
Thanks for your question. As a physicist rather than a philosopher, I feel somewhat less qualified than you to argue on the issue of the block universe versus time flowing. Superficially, though, I still lean towards the block universe picture simply because it’s hard to see how a future boundary condition could influence what exists in the present if the future doesn’t exist yet. Perhaps the same thing could be argued about the transactional interpretation. I’m more apprehensive about expressing this viewpoint now, however, because last time I replied to you I hadn’t realised you weren’t a block universe supporter and I don’t want you to dismiss my model purely on this contentious philosophical point. The mathematical apparatus of the model is quite powerful and I would prefer you to embrace the maths and place your own interpretation on it. There is obviously retrocausality involved because choosing to measure a different observable at a later time changes the particle’s velocity at earlier times. Of course, an intuitive notion of free will is assumed here.
I hope this helps.
Rod