The Dead Past Dilemma

IF 0.2 0 PHILOSOPHY
Robert E. Pezet
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract A temporal levels structure for temporal metaphysics is outlined and employed to convey a dilemma threatening the temporal collapse of Growing-Block Theories to their meta-temporal level. The outline further explains how Presentism occupies a privileged (default) position in that temporal levels structure. Moreover, that dilemma relies crucially on the acceptance of productive causation as explaining additions to the growing block, for which it is argued any reasonable growing-block theory should incorporate. The dilemma’s first horn considers growing-block theories where productive causes are only so when present; the second, growing-block theories where productive causes continue being so when past. Either way, growing-block theory collapses into Accruing-Present Theory: whereby all entities survive into succeeding present “blocks” of existents. It is argued, the presentness of surviving entities undermines their intended theoretical role, undercutting motivations for believing accruing-present theses. Ultimately, I recommend rejection of both growing-block and accruing-present theses based on these explanatory inadequacies.
逝去的过去的困境
摘要:本文概述了时间形而上学的时间层次结构,并运用该结构将生长块理论的时间崩溃威胁传达到其元时间层次。大纲进一步解释了当下主义如何在时间层次结构中占据特权(默认)地位。此外,这种困境主要依赖于对生产性因果关系的接受,因为生产性因果关系可以解释增长块的增加,有人认为任何合理的增长块理论都应该包含生产性因果关系。两难困境的第一个角考虑的是增长障碍理论,其中生产原因只有在存在时才会存在;第二种是增长阻滞理论,即生产原因在过去后继续存在。无论哪种方式,成长块理论都将瓦解为累积-现在理论:即所有实体都将生存到后续的存在“块”中。有人认为,幸存实体的存在破坏了它们预期的理论作用,削弱了相信累积存在论点的动机。最后,基于这些解释的不足,我建议拒绝增长型和累积型论文。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.30
自引率
50.00%
发文量
29
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