Modern physics shows that the intuitive notion of a global "present time" is at odds with experience. A worldview of reality now existing in the present ("Presentism") is therefore not compatible with current knowledge. Several philosophers (starting with Putnam) and some physicists have argued that this implies a "block" view of spacetime, where change is illusory ("Eternalism"). I argue that positing the alternative between Presentism and Eternalism is misunderstanding modern physics, which provides a worldview far from either of these alternatives. I use this textbook case to show that conceptual clarity must follow, not preceed, knowledge, because new knowledge sometimes require a serious conceptual reframing.
(The presentation will be based on (but expanded upon) the two papers CR, “Neither Presentism nor Eternalism”, Foundations of Physics, 49(12), 1325-1335. arXiv:1910.02474, and CR, "The Old Fisherman's Mistake", Metaphilosophy 53 (2022) 567-746, http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/18837.)
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Please contact Imogen Rivers for any other questions: imogen.rivers@philosophy.ox.ac.uk.
Jowett Society Organising Committee: Imogen Rivers | Jowett Society Website
