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A Theory Of Time
The B-theory of time, also called the "tenseless theory of time", is one of two positions regarding the temporal ordering of events in the philosophy of time. B-theorists argue that the flow of time is only a subjective illusion of human consciousness, that the past, present, and future are equally real, and that time is tenseless: temporal becoming is not an objective feature of reality. Therefore, there is nothing privileged about the present, ontologically speaking. The B-theory is derived from a distinction drawn by J. M. E. McTaggart between A series and B series. The B-theory is often drawn upon in theoretical physics, and is seen in theories such as eternalism. Origin of terms The terms A-theory and B-theory, first coined by Richard Gale in 1966, derive from Cambridge philosopher J. M. E. McTaggart's analysis of time and change in "The Unreality of Time" (1908), in which events are ordered via a tensed A-series or a tenseless B-series. It is popularly assumed that the A t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy Of Time
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras ( BCE), although this theory is disputed by some. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. in . Historically, ''philosophy'' encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a '' philosopher''."The English word "philosophy" is first attested to , meaning "knowledge, body of knowledge." "natural philosophy," which began as a discipline in ancient India and Ancient Greece, encompasses astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 '' Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'' later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relativity Of Simultaneity
In physics, the relativity of simultaneity is the concept that ''distant simultaneity'' – whether two spatially separated events occur at the same time – is not absolute, but depends on the observer's reference frame. This possibility was raised by mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1900, and thereafter became a central idea in the special theory of relativity. Description According to the special theory of relativity introduced by Albert Einstein, it is impossible to say in an ''absolute'' sense that two distinct events occur at the same time if those events are separated in space. If one reference frame assigns precisely the same time to two events that are at different points in space, a reference frame that is moving relative to the first will generally assign different times to the two events (the only exception being when motion is exactly perpendicular to the line connecting the locations of both events). For example, a car crash in London and another in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Further Facts
In philosophy, further facts are facts that do not follow logically from the physical facts of the world. Reductionists who argue that at bottom there is nothing more than the physical facts thus argue against the existence of further facts. The concept of further facts plays a key role in some of the major works in analytic philosophy of the late 20th century, including in Derek Parfit's ''Reasons and Persons'', and David Chalmers's ''The Conscious Mind''. One context in which the existence of further facts is debated is that of personal identity across time: in what sense is Alice today really the ''same'' person as Alice yesterday, given that across the two days the state of her brain is different and the atoms that constitute her are different? One may believe that at bottom, there is nothing more than the atoms and their arrangement at different points in time; while we may for practical purposes come up with some notion of sameness of a person, this notion does not reflec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Prior
Arthur Norman Prior (4 December 1914 – 6 October 1969), usually cited as A. N. Prior, was a New Zealand–born logician and philosopher. Prior (1957) founded tense logic, now also known as temporal logic, and made important contributions to intensional logic, particularly in Prior (1971). Biography Prior was born in Masterton, New Zealand, on 4 December 1914, the only child of Australian-born parents: Norman Henry Prior (1882–1967) and his wife born Elizabeth Munton Rothesay Teague (1889–1914). His mother died less than three weeks after his birth and he was cared for by his father's sister. His father, a medical practitioner in general practice, after war service at Gallipoli and in Francewhere he was awarded the Military Crossremarried in 1920. There were three more children, the first: epidemiologist, Ian Prior. Arthur Prior grew up in a prominent Methodist household. His two Wesleyan grandfathers, the Reverends Samuel Fowler Prior and Hugh Henwood Teague, were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type–token Distinction
The type–token distinction is the difference between naming a ''class'' (type) of objects and naming the individual ''instances'' (tokens) of that class. Since each type may be exemplified by multiple tokens, there are generally more tokens than types of an object. For example, the sentence " A rose is a rose is a rose" contains three word types: three word tokens of the type ''a'', three word tokens of the type ''rose'', and two word tokens of the type ''is''. The distinction is important in disciplines such as logic, linguistics, metalogic, typography, and computer programming. Overview The type–token distinction separates ''types'' (abstract descriptive concepts) from ''tokens'' (objects that instantiate concepts). For example, in the sentence "''the bicycle is becoming more popular''" the word ''bicycle'' represents the abstract concept of bicycles, and is thus a type, whereas in the sentence "''the bicycle is in the garage''", it represents a particular object, and is ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quentin Smith
Quentin Persifor Smith (August 27, 1952, Rhinebeck, New York – November 12, 2020, Kalamazoo, Michigan) was an American philosopher. He was professor emeritus of philosophy at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked in the philosophy of time, philosophy of language, philosophy of physics and philosophy of religion. Smith published over 140 articles. Of his published books, he authored three, co-authored two, and co-authored and edited seven. He was an editor for Prometheus Books and was the chief editor for ''Philo'' from 2001 to 2007. He debated William Lane Craig over the existence of God. Early life and education Quentin Smith was born in Rhinebeck, New York. His father was a psychology professor at Bennington College and he spent most of his early life in Canada. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Antioch College, advancing to receive a PhD in philosophy from Boston College. Career After college, he received a job as ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dean Zimmerman (philosopher)
Dean W. Zimmerman is an American professor of philosophy at Rutgers University specializing in metaphysics and philosophy of religion. Education and career Zimmerman received his bachelor's degree from Mankato State University in 1987 in French, philosophy, and English. He went on to receive a Master of Arts degree from Brown University in 1990 and then a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the same institution in 1992, where he worked with Jaegwon Kim and Roderick Chisholm. He taught at the University of Notre Dame and Syracuse University prior to joining Rutgers University, where he is also now Director of the Rutgers Center for the Philosophy of Religion. Zimmerman was hired to Rutgers at the same time as John Hawthorne and Ted Sider. Zimmerman is a Christian and a member of the Society of Christian Philosophers. He also serves on the board of advisors of the Marc Sanders Foundation, which awards prizes for outstanding work in philosophy. Philosophical work Zimmerman is an in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exist on the most fundamental level. Ontologists often try to determine what the categories or highest kinds are and how they form a system of categories that encompasses classification of all entities. Commonly proposed categories include substances, properties, relations, states of affairs and events. These categories are characterized by fundamental ontological concepts, including particularity and universality, abstractness and concreteness, or possibility and necessity. Of special interest is the concept of ontological dependence, which determines whether the entities of a category exist on the most fundamental level. Disagreements within ontology are often about whether entities belonging to a certain category exist and, if so, how they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Dimensionalism
In philosophy, four-dimensionalism (also known as the doctrine of temporal parts) is the ontological position that an object's persistence through time is like its extension through space. Thus, an object that exists in time has temporal parts in the various subregions of the total region of time it occupies, just like an object that exists in a region of space has at least one part in every subregion of that space. Four-dimensionalists typically argue for treating time as analogous to space, usually leading them to endorse the doctrine of '' eternalism''. This is a philosophical approach to the ontological nature of time, according to which all points in time are equally "real", as opposed to the presentist idea that only the present is real. As some eternalists argue by analogy, just as all spatially distant objects and events are equally as real as those close to us, temporally distant objects and events are as real as those currently present to us. ''Perdurantism''—or '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Emperor's New Mind
''The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds and The Laws of Physics'' is a 1989 book by the mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose. Penrose argues that human consciousness is non-algorithmic, and thus is not capable of being modeled by a conventional Turing machine, which includes a digital computer. Penrose hypothesizes that quantum mechanics plays an essential role in the understanding of human consciousness. The Wave function collapse, collapse of the quantum wavefunction is seen as playing an important role in brain function. Most of the book is spent reviewing, for the scientifically-minded lay-reader, a plethora of interrelated subjects such as Newtonian physics, special relativity, special and general relativity, the philosophy and limitations of mathematics, quantum physics, physical cosmology, cosmology, and the nature of time. Penrose intermittently describes how each of these bears on his developing theme: that consciousness is not "algorithmic". Only the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andromeda Paradox
Andromeda most commonly refers to: * Andromeda (mythology), a princess from Greek mythology * Andromeda (constellation), a region of the Earth's night sky * The Andromeda Galaxy, an astronomical object within the constellation Andromeda may also refer to: Artistic works Fine art * ''Andromeda Chained to the Rocks'', a 1631 painting by Rembrandt * '' Andromeda (Rodin)'', an 1889 sculpture by Auguste Rodin Literature * ''Andromeda'' (play), lost mythological tragedy by Euripides from 412 BC * ''Andromeda'' (novel), 1957 science fiction novel by Ivan Yefremov * ''The Andromeda'' Strain, 1969 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton * The Andromeda Evolution, 2019 science fiction novel by Daniel H. Wilson, sequel to The Andromeda Strain Music * Andromeda (English band), a 1960s psychedelic rock band from Britain, or their eponymous debut album * Andromeda (Swedish band), a 2000s progressive metal band from Sweden * Love Outside Andromeda, a 2000s indie rock band from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Penrose
Sir Roger Penrose (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, philosopher of science and Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, an emeritus fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, and an honorary fellow of St John's College, Cambridge and University College London. Penrose has contributed to the mathematical physics of general relativity and cosmology. He has received several prizes and awards, including the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics, which he shared with Stephen Hawking for the Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems, and one half of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity". He is regarded as one of the greatest living physicists, mathematicians and scientists, and is particularly noted for the breadth and depth of his work in both natural and formal sciences. Early life and education Bor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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