On Two Slights to Noether’s First Theorem: Mental Causation and General Relativity

Abstract

For Springer volume Rethinking the Concept of Laws of Nature: Natural Order in the Light of Contemporary Science edited by Yemima Ben-Menahemto their quirky properties; some authors even attempt to explain the laws' supposed nonexistence in terms of an absence of symmetries of the geometry, which is a distraction. Thus Noether's first theorem is widely ignored, left uninterpreted, or distorted in relation to General Relativity. Taking the theorem seriously seems possible, however, restoring the conservation of energy, or rather, energies.How do these controversies relate? One sometimes finds claims that General Relativity's supposed lack of conservation laws answers Leibniz on behalf of Descartes. Taking seriously the superabundance of formal conservation laws in General Relativity, however, suggests that General Relativity resists (not facilitates) mind-to-body causation. This conclusion can be proven apart from interpretive controversies. The resistance is, however, finite and tends to be swamped by larger world-view considerations.

Causation and the conservation of energy in general relativity

“…It is also worth noting how weak this condition really is: see(Pitts [2022b]) for discussion.13 See e.g (De Haro [2022]…”