Single Idea 22610

[catalogued under 27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 1. Nature of Time / h. Presentism]

Full Idea

Contemporary philosophers are not comfortable with presentism, because it is difficult to deal with presentism in the language of first-order predicate logic.

Gist of Idea

It is difficult to handle presentism in first-order logic

Source

R.D. Ingthorsson (A Powerful Particulars View of Causation [2021], 1.8)

Book Reference

'Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Time', ed/tr. Callender,Craig [OUP 2013], p.15


A Reaction

Presumable that logic relies on objects which endure through time, or at least have a past. Second-order logic is better able to deal with processes, which only exist in the present, but nevertheless have an integral past and future. ?

Related Idea

Idea 22609 Philosophers accepted first-order logic, because they took science to be descriptive, not explanatory [Ingthorsson]