Mason, Lucy (2025) Temporal Perspectives, Probabilities and Openness. [Preprint]

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Abstract

One way to interpret the difference between presentism and eternalism is perspectively. This view argues that from a perspective outside of time, we should adopt eternalism, and from a perspective embedded within time, we should be presentist. I will use the perspectival view to make two central claims about the probabilities in statistical mechanics. First, the perspectival view can help us respond to the challenge that these probabilities are merely epistemic, subjective, or anthropocentric. Second, we should treat the future as metaphysically open, due to both probabilities in statistical mechanics and the localised nature of the present.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Mason, Lucy lucy.mason@rhul.ac.uk 0009-0002-4852-9061
Keywords:	presentism; eternalism; probabilities; statistical mechanics;
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User:	Lucy Mason
Date Deposited:	20 May 2025 14:20
Last Modified:	20 May 2025 14:20
Item ID:	25374
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date:	2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25374

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