The Direction of Time
I defend primitivism about the direction of time. My argument in favor of this view has two parts: a pars destruens and a pars construens. As for the pars destruens, I claim that most arguments against a primitive direction of time involve premises that can be resisted. As for the pars construens, I argue that the direction of time plays a key role in daily and scientific explanations. In this project, I explore in deep detail the concept of time-reversal invariance and the scientific and metaphysical reasons to endorse primitivism. I have produced numerous papers on this topic (find them in Publications) and some manuscripts are on the way. Some of the outputs of this project are:
*A workshop on the arrow of time held in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in February 2023 (link here)
*A workshop on time held in Lausanne (Switzerland) in May 2023 (link here)
*One Special Issue in Entropy and another in The Journal for General Philosophy of Science.
*A volume in Cambridge University Press that is going to be out in 2025
*An introductory book in Spanish to the direction of time (see here)
Symmetries in Physics and Philosophy
This project was part of my FNS Postdoctoral research at the University of Louvain (Belgium). Its aim was to investigate the role of dynamical symmetries in physics and evaluate their significance in metaphysical arguments. Although I have left UCLouvain, I am still actively working on this project.
There is a prevalent view today that (at least some) symmetries can guide metaphysical reasoning. However, I am skeptical. I adopt a deflationary perspective, viewing symmetries as having an architectonic and heuristic role in theory construction, but with little to no metaphysical relevance. I refer to this perspective as “symmetry deflationism.”
A further development in this project involves conceptualizing symmetries within the framework of the Open System View. Papers related to this project can be found in Publications.
Political Philosophy and Economics
Over the past two years, my interest in political philosophy and the philosophy of economics has grown significantly. Specifically, I have been exploring the arguments for and against free-market anarchism, the justification of political authority and obligations, the ethics of open societies, and the foundational principles of Austrian Economics. To date, I have published a critical paper on democracy and another on Austrian Economics as an a priori science (Publications). I have also delivered talks on the philosophical foundations of Austrian Economics and co-authored a book with Michael Esfeld on modern science, scientism, and the rule of law (Palgrave-Macmillan, Books)).
Currently, I am working on two manuscripts: one examining our moral obligations to future generations regarding global climate and another addressing the illusion of scientific authority. Additionally, I am writing a book on the philosophical foundations of free-market anarchism which I hope to be ready during 2025.
Cristian Lopez 