Effect before cause

Retrocausality, or backwards causation, is a concept of cause and effect in which an effect precedes its cause in time and so a later event affects an earlier one.

1. Can a cause happen after an effect?
2. Can you have an effect without a cause?
3. What is quantum retrocausal theory?
4. Is backwards causation possible?

Can a cause happen after an effect?

Instead of cause always preceding effect, effects can sometimes precipitate their causes. And, even more mindbogglingly, both can be true at once.

Can you have an effect without a cause?

'Cause' and 'effect' are conceptually joined. You can't have an effect without a cause since to call something an effect is to imply that it has a cause - and to call something a cause is to imply that it has an effect. This belongs to the logic of the two concepts. However, there can be events without a cause.

What is quantum retrocausal theory?

Instead, retrocausality means that, when an experimenter chooses the measurement setting with which to measure a particle, that decision can influence the properties of that particle (or another particle) in the past, even before the experimenter made their choice.

Is backwards causation possible?

Hence, the future is not determinate. Hence, backward causation is not possible.