Four-Dimensionalism
Author | : Theodore Sider |
Publisher | : Oxford University Press on Demand |
Total Pages | : 280 |
Release | : 2001-10-25 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780199244430 |
ISBN-13 | : 019924443X |
Rating | : 4/5 (43X Downloads) |
Download or read book Four-Dimensionalism written by Theodore Sider and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2001-10-25 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four-Dimensionalism defends the thesis that the material world is composed of temporal as well as spatial parts. This defense includes a novel account of persistence over time, new arguments in favour of the four-dimensional ontology, and responses to the challenges four-dimensionalism faces.Theodore Sider pays particular attention to the philosophy of time, including a strong series of arguments against presentism, the thesis that only the present is real. Arguments offered in favour of four-dimensionalism include novel arguments based on time travel, the debate beween spacetime substantivalists and relationalists, and vagueness. Also included is a comprehensive discussion of the paradoxes of coinciding material objects, and a novel resolution of those paradoxes based on temporalcounterpart theory. In conclusion Sider replies to prominent objections to four-dimensionalism, including discussion of the problem of the rotating homogenous disk.Four Dimensionalism is an original and highly readable study of the metaphysics of time and identity.