
Ross P. Cameron argues that the flow of time is a genuine feature of reality. He suggests that the best version of the A-Theory is a version of the Moving Spotlight view, according to which past and future beings are real, but there is nonetheless an objectively privileged present. Cameron argues that the Moving Spotlight theory should be viewed as having more in common with Presentism (the view that reality is limited to the present) than with the B-Theory (the view that time is just another dimension like space through which things are spread out). The Moving Spotlight view, on this picture, agrees with Presentism that everything is the way it is now, it simply thinks that non-present beings are amongst the things that are now some way. Cameron argues that the Moving Spotlight theory provides the best account of truthmakers for claims about what was or will be the case, and he defends the view against a number of objections, including McTaggart's argument that the A-Theory is inconsistent, and the charge that if the A-Theory is true but presentism false then we could not know that we are present. The Moving Spotlight defends an account of the open future--that what will happen is, as yet, undetermined--Land argues that this is a better account than that available to the Growing Block theory.
This book investigates whether the flow of time is a genuine, objective feature of reality by defending the Moving Spotlight theory. Ross P. Cameron, a philosopher specializing in metaphysics, utilizes analytic philosophical methods to argue that the A-Theory of time is best represented by a framework where past and future entities exist, yet a privileged present remains. He constructs his argument by contrasting this view with both Presentism and the B-Theory, aiming to provide a robust account of truthmakers for temporal claims.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Philosophers and students of metaphysics frequently cite this work as a significant contribution to the contemporary debate on the nature of time. Readers often note the high level of academic density and the rigorous logical structure required to follow Cameron's defense of the Moving Spotlight theory.
Page Count:
229
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191022292
ISBN-13:
9780191022296
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