Title
Extent of the present
School/Department
Talbot School of Theology
Publication Date
6-2000
Abstract
One of the principal objections to a tensed or dynamic theory of time is the ancient puzzle about the extent of the present. Three alternative conceptions of the extent of the present are considered: an instantaneous present, an atomic present, and a non-metrical present. The first conception is difficult to reconcile with the objectivity of temporal becoming posited by a dynamic theory of time. The second conception solves that problem, but only at the expense of making change discontinuous. The third conception is the most plausible: that "the present" is a non-metrical notion which must be completed by the mention of some event or interval in order to have a measure, in which case what is present varies with one's context.
Publication Title
International Studies in the Philosophy of Science
Volume
14
Issue
2
First Page
165
Last Page
185
DOI of Published Version
10.1080/02698590050045746
Recommended Citation
Craig, William Lane, "Extent of the present" (2000). Faculty Articles & Research. 633.
https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/faculty-articles/633