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What is temporal ontology?

Deng, Natalja (2018) What is temporal ontology? Philosophical Studies, 175 (3). pp. 793-807. ISSN 0031-8116

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Abstract

Temporal ontology is the part of ontology involving the rival positions of presentism, eternalism, and the growing block theory. While this much is clear, it’s surprisingly difficult to elucidate the substance of the disagreement between presentists and eternalists (to focus on the most widespread positions). Certain events happened that are not
happening now; what is it to disagree about whether these events exist (simpliciter, or else tenselessly)? In spite of widespread suspicion concerning the status and methods of analytic metaphysics, skeptics’ doubts about this debate have not generally been heeded, neither by
metaphysicians, nor by philosophers of physics. This paper revisits the question in the light of prominent elucidation attempts from both camps (by Ted Sider, Christian Wüthrich, and Tom Stoneham). The upshot is that skeptics were right to be puzzled. The paper then
explores a possible re-interpretation of positions in temporal ontology that links it to normative views about how we should live as temporal beings.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Deng, Nataljanmdeng@gmail.com0000-0001-5668-9271
Keywords: Time, Ontology
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > Causation
Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User: Prof. Natalja Deng
Date Deposited: 16 Jun 2019 13:16
Last Modified: 16 Jun 2019 13:16
Item ID: 16120
Journal or Publication Title: Philosophical Studies
Publisher: Springer (Springer Science+Business Media B.V.)
Official URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11098-0...
DOI or Unique Handle: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-017-0893-6
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > Causation
Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date: 1 March 2018
Page Range: pp. 793-807
Volume: 175
Number: 3
ISSN: 0031-8116
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16120

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