Causal Priority Theory — Foundations, Episode 0 Constructing Time from Causal Updates: A Minimal Framework for Time as a Derived Quantity

Key Points

• This work aims to redefine time not as a fundamental element but as a secondary construct based on causal updates.
• Proposes a minimal framework for time based on causally ordered state updates.
• Defines time through the cumulative sum of causal updates from irreversible state transitions.
• Considers events as representations of state transitions.
• Establishes a theoretical basis for understanding time as derived rather than fundamental.
• Demonstrates how derived time can be constructed from causally ordered updates.
• Introduces new implications for the conceptualization of temporal dynamics.

Abstract