this might count as philosophy right? Maybe not all my nonsense is relegated to anything goes.

I labeled this a Ti question because I don't want to be yammered at about common sense. Give me the beef.

I'm rewatching dark (in season 1, don't spoil anything!)
And it's raising questions in my mind about time.
The chain of cause and effect occurs in a sequence that occurs in the order of past>present>future and cannot happen in a different way ie present>past (lying in textbooks doesn't really count)
Is there some logical formula that proves this to be true? Is there proof? Or is it just taken for granted?

Please excuse any ignorance on my part and aim for a substantial+plain English response. Thank u