Behind Time: The Incoherence of Time and McTaggart's Atemporal Replacement - Couverture rigide

Rochelle, Dr. Gerald

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1840143738 ISBN 13 : 9781840143737

Editeur : Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1998

Synopsis

The aim of this book is to show how McTaggart's atemporal vision of reality is a serious attempt to describe a coherent world without time. It proposes that the answer to the puzzling nature of time is not to be found in the components of time itself, but in an atemporal reality that lies behind it. McTaggart takes an idealist view that reduces all that is real to spirit, that any expression of reality is dependent on a manifestation of consciousness. McTaggart's argument that time is unreal, has been the subject of much philosophical debate since it first appeared in 1908; but much discussion has ignored McTaggart's positive account of time and concentrated on his negative proof. The author argues that the negative thesis should be separated from the positive account, he attacks the standard approaches to interpreting time and provides a full account of McTaggart's atemporal world. The conclusion is drawn that the timeless world has psychological appeal and can form the basis for an atemporal thinking which can break away from the confusing philosophical models of temporality that often bear little resemblance to our experience of it.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

In this book I show that McTaggart’s atemporal vision of reality, which gets little philosophical attention, is a serious attempt to describe a coherent world without time. I suggest that the answer to the puzzling nature of time is not to be found in its components but in the atemporal C-world that McTaggart describes. Like McTaggart, I hold an idealist view. In the Introduction I outline and justify the intention of the book and provide an analysis of the contents. In Chapter 1 I provide a guide to McTaggart’s important works, an explanation of some of his terms and a description of important features of his fuller philosophy. In Chapter 2 I explain McTaggart’s argument against the reality of time and some of its outcomes. I argue that atemporality is a reasonable view to hold. Though it is difficult to accept the strongly idealist view that it is events that change and not things, the much attacked vicious regress of the A series, which McTaggart proposes, is defendable. In Chapter 3 I find none of our commonly held views on time fully coherent. A closer look at the components of the A series only increases the confusion. In Chapter 4 I look at some philosophical positions that we can adopt on time. I find that McTaggart’s position appeals to common sense and is surprisingly close to modern scientific views. In Chapter 5 I describe how the atemporal world is coherent with McTaggart’s description of reality and holds fundamental relations with the temporal world of our experience. In my Conclusion I explain that we can accept the atemporal features of McTaggart argument without having to accept his system in total. The central elements of the atemporal world have psychological appeal and this idealist view is not out of place in modern times. I argue that McTaggart’s atemporal world is a strong foundation for a new atemporal thinking. The book is extensively referenced and includes a full bibliography.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Ashgate Publishing Limited
• Date d'édition: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1840143738
• ISBN 13: 9781840143737
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 230
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible