causal

Counterfactuals Are Made True By Laws, Not Possibilities

Counterfactual claims (e.g., 'if I had let go of the rock it would have fallen') are made true not by ghostly unactualized events but by the actual laws of nature: possibilities do not exert pressure on actuality because only actual things push things around; the laws determine which counterfactuals are true, so possibility is grounded in laws rather than laws in possibility.

causalpending

Speaker

Tim Maudlin

Evidence Quote

“i don't think possibilities put any pressure on actuality right because possibilities as it were don't they don't exist in a certain full-blooded sense they don't push things around only actual things can push things around”

Source

318 - Physics Philosophy— Making Sense with Sam Harris
Created: 6/14/2026, 1:58:49 AM

My Notes

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