1st Edition

The Future of the Philosophy of Time

Edited By Adrian Bardon Copyright 2012
    230 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    230 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The last century has seen enormous progress in our understanding of time. This volume features original essays by the foremost philosophers of time discussing the goals and methodology of the philosophy of time, and examining the best way to move forward with regard to the field's core issues.

    The collection is unique in combining cutting edge work on time with a focus on the big picture of time studies as a discipline. The major questions asked include:

    • What are the implications of relativity and quantum physics on our understanding of time?
    • Is the passage of time real, or just a subjective phenomenon?
    • Are the past and future real, or is the present all that exists?
    • If the future is real and unchanging (as contemporary physics seems to suggest), how is free will possible?
    • Since only the present moment is perceived, how does the experience as we know it come about? How does experience take on its character of a continuous flow of moments or events?
    • What explains the apparent one-way direction of time?
    • Is time travel a logical/metaphysical possibility?

    1. A-, B-, and R-Theories of Time: A Debate L. Nathan Oaklander  2. Against Presentism: Two Very Different Types of Objection Michael Tooley  3. Times as Abstractions Ulrich Meyer  4. Perceiving Transience Yuval Dolev  5. Time’s Ontic Voltage Craig Callender  6. Temporal Experience L. A. Paul  7. Time and Temporal Experience Barry Dainton  8. Decision and the Open Future Jenann Ismael  9. On Methodology in the Metaphysics of Time Heather Dyke  10. Time and the Geometry of the Universe Tim Maudlin  Index

    Biography

    Adrian Bardon is an associate professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and is the author of the forthcoming book A Brief History of the Philosophy of Time.

    'Overall, The Future of the Philosophy of Time is a fine collection for specialists, particularly those working on the nature of temporal experience.'
    – Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

    'I highly recommend The Future of the Philosophy of Time both to those with an interest in advancing our
    thinking about the philosophy of time and to those with a more general interest in the metaphysical issues raised by the study of time.'

    - Dana Goswick, University of Melbourne, Australia, The Philosophical Quarterly