Determinism without causality

TL;DR

This paper introduces a toy operational theory demonstrating that determinism and causality are independent concepts, challenging the common assumption that they are inherently linked, especially in the context of quantum foundations.

Contribution

The paper presents a deterministic, non-causal toy theory, explicitly separating the notions of causality and determinism in theoretical physics.

Findings

The theory is deterministic but non-causal.

Determinism does not imply causality in the proposed model.

Causality and determinism are shown to be independent concepts.

Abstract

Causality has been often confused with the notion of determinism. It is mandatory to separate the two notions in view of the debate about quantum foundations. Quantum theory provides an example of causal not-deterministic theory. Here we introduce a toy operational theory that is deterministic and non-causal, thus proving that the two notions of causality and determinism are totally independent.