Harrington, James (2005) What Kind of a Problem is the Problem of Time? [Preprint]

Preview

PDF AristotlePhysics3.pdf Download (142kB)

Abstract

Aristotle begins his famous discussion of time in Book Δ of The Physics by asking whether time belongs to “the things that exist.” In this paper I argue that Aristotle’s apparently ambiguous answer to this question holds one of the keys to clarifying contemporary philosophy of time. First, I argue that the metaphysical and meta-philosophical presuppositions underlying most philosophy of time are deeply flawed. Second, that Aristotle provides us with a much more plausible alternative set of presuppositions about the nature of time. The Aristotelian conception of time as part of the subject matter of physics or “the philosophy of nature” is particularly illuminating. Finally, I examine several issues about the nature and reality of time often raised in the context of contemporary physics and show how the Aristotelian perspective can resolve those puzzles.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Harrington, James
Keywords:	time, tense, Aristotle, cosmology, metaphysics, McTaggart, Goedel,
Subjects:	General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics
Depositing User:	JAMES HARRINGTON
Date Deposited:	09 Aug 2005
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:13
Item ID:	2396
Subjects:	General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics
Date:	August 2005
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/2396

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item