The Time in Thermal Time

Abstract

Preparing general relativity for quantization in the Hamiltonian approach leads to the `problem of time,' rendering the world fundamentally timeless. One proposed solution is the `thermal time hypothesis,' which defines time in terms of states representing systems in thermal equilibrium. On this view, time is supposed to emerge thermodynamically even in a fundamentally timeless context. Here, I develop the worry that the thermal time hypothesis requires dynamics -- and hence time -- to get off the ground, thereby running into worries of circularity.

Accepted for publication in the Journal for General Philosophy of Science, as part of the Special Issue: On Time in the Foundations of Physics (eds. Andrea Oldofredi & Cristian Lopez). Please cite final version when available