Single Idea 14591

[catalogued under 9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 4. Four-Dimensionalism]

Full Idea

Self-proclaimed four-dimensionalists typically adopt a picture that reckons instantaneous objects (and facts about them) to be more fundamental than long-lived ones.

Gist of Idea

Four-dimensionalists say instantaneous objects are more fundamental than long-lived ones

Source

John Hawthorne (Three-Dimensionalism v Four-Dimensionalism [2008], 2.2)

Book Reference

'Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics', ed/tr. Sider/Hawthorne/Zimmerman [Blackwell 2008], p.273


A Reaction

A nice elucidation. As in Idea 14588, this seems motivated by a desire for some sort of foundationalism or atomism. Why shouldn't a metaphysic treat the middle-sized or temporally extended as foundational, and derive the rest that way?

Related Idea

Idea 14588 Modern metaphysicians tend to think space-time points are more fundamental than space-time regions [Hawthorne]