more from this thinker     |     more from this text


Single Idea 15192

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / e. Tensed (A) series ]

Full Idea

We appear to share a common now, but not a common here.

Gist of Idea

We share a common now, but not a common here

Source

Robin Le Poidevin (Intro to 'Questions of Time and Tense' [1998], 2)

Book Ref

'Questions of Time and Tense', ed/tr. Le Poidevin,R [OUP 2002], p.5


A Reaction

Personally I take this to be quite a strong argument against the simplistic view that there is just something called 'spacetime', with no distinction of dimensions.


The 12 ideas with the same theme [A-series, with the present as a distinctive moment]:

The present moment is obviously a necessary feature of time [Aristotle]
The Hopi have no concept of time as something flowing from past to future [Whorf]
'Thank goodness that's over' is not like 'thank goodness that happened on Friday' [Prior,AN]
The past, present, future and tenses of A-theory are too weird, and should be analysed indexically [Smart]
It is claimed that the tense view entails the unreality of both future and past [Le Poidevin]
We share a common now, but not a common here [Le Poidevin]
Tensed theorists typically try to reduce the tenseless to the tensed [Le Poidevin]
There is one ordered B series, but an infinitude of A series, depending on when the present is [Maudlin]
A-theorists, unlike B-theorists, believe some sort of objective distinction between past, present and future [Zimmerman,DW]
Time flows, past is fixed, future is open, future is feared but not past, we remember past, we plan future [Bourne]
The A-series says a past event is becoming more past, but how can it do that? [Bardon]
The A-series has to treat being past, present or future as properties [Baron/Miller]