The Asymmetric Nature of Time

This open access monograph offers a detailed study and a systematic defense of a key intuition we typically have, as human beings, with respect to the nature of time: the intuition that the future is open, whereas the past is fixed. For example, whereas it seems unsettled whether there will be a fou...

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Hoofdauteur: Grandjean, Vincent
Formaat: Online
Taal:Engels
Gepubliceerd in: Springer Nature 2022
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Online toegang:ONIX_20221014_9783031097638_2
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author Grandjean, Vincent
author_browse Grandjean, Vincent
author_facet Grandjean, Vincent
author_sort Grandjean, Vincent
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This open access monograph offers a detailed study and a systematic defense of a key intuition we typically have, as human beings, with respect to the nature of time: the intuition that the future is open, whereas the past is fixed. For example, whereas it seems unsettled whether there will be a fourth world war, it is settled that there was a first world war. The book contributes, in particular, three major and original insights. First, it provides a coherent, non-metaphorical, and metaphysically illuminating elucidation of the intuition. Second, it determines which model of the temporal structure of the world is most appropriate to accommodate the intuition, and settles on a specific version of the Growing Block Theory of time (GBT). Third, it puts forward a naturalistic foundation for GBT, by exploiting recent results of our best physics (viz. General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Quantum Gravity). Three main challenges are addressed: the dismissal of temporal asymmetries as non-fundamental phenomena only (e.g., thermodynamic or causal phenomena), the epistemic objection against GBT, and the apparent tension between GBT and relativistic physics. It is argued that the asymmetry between the open future and the fixed past must be grounded in the temporal structure of the world, and that this is neither precluded by our epistemic device, nor by the latest approaches to Quantum Gravity (​e.g., the Causal Set Theory). Aiming at reconciling time as we find it in ordinary experience and time as physics describes it, this ​innovative book ​will raise the interest of both academic researchers and ​graduate students working on the philosophy of time. More generally, it ​presents contents of interest for all metaphysicians and non-dogmatic philosophers of physics. This is an open access book.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-927812025-08-13T13:42:48Z The Asymmetric Nature of Time Grandjean, Vincent Open Future concept Fixed Past concept Future Contingents of time Bivalence Indeterminism Metaphysical Indeterminacy Temporal Becoming A-theory of Time Growing Block Theory Quantum Gravity Causal Set Theory Time-Travel thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory) thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory) This open access monograph offers a detailed study and a systematic defense of a key intuition we typically have, as human beings, with respect to the nature of time: the intuition that the future is open, whereas the past is fixed. For example, whereas it seems unsettled whether there will be a fourth world war, it is settled that there was a first world war. The book contributes, in particular, three major and original insights. First, it provides a coherent, non-metaphorical, and metaphysically illuminating elucidation of the intuition. Second, it determines which model of the temporal structure of the world is most appropriate to accommodate the intuition, and settles on a specific version of the Growing Block Theory of time (GBT). Third, it puts forward a naturalistic foundation for GBT, by exploiting recent results of our best physics (viz. General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Quantum Gravity). Three main challenges are addressed: the dismissal of temporal asymmetries as non-fundamental phenomena only (e.g., thermodynamic or causal phenomena), the epistemic objection against GBT, and the apparent tension between GBT and relativistic physics. It is argued that the asymmetry between the open future and the fixed past must be grounded in the temporal structure of the world, and that this is neither precluded by our epistemic device, nor by the latest approaches to Quantum Gravity (​e.g., the Causal Set Theory). Aiming at reconciling time as we find it in ordinary experience and time as physics describes it, this ​innovative book ​will raise the interest of both academic researchers and ​graduate students working on the philosophy of time. More generally, it ​presents contents of interest for all metaphysicians and non-dogmatic philosophers of physics. This is an open access book. 2022-10-15T04:05:16Z 2022-10-15T04:05:16Z 2022-10-14T10:38:58Z 2022 book ONIX_20221014_9783031097638_2 OCN: 1346157054 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/58610 9783031097638 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/92781 eng Synthese Library open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/58610/1/978-3-031-09763-8.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/58610/1/978-3-031-09763-8.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/58610/1/978-3-031-09763-8.pdf Springer Nature Springer 10.1007/978-3-031-09763-8 10.1007/978-3-031-09763-8 9fa3421d-f917-4153-b9ab-fc337c396b5a Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung 07f61e34-5b96-49f0-9860-c87dd8228f26 9783031097638 Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) Springer 216 Cham [...] open access
spellingShingle Open Future concept
Fixed Past concept
Future Contingents of time
Bivalence
Indeterminism
Metaphysical Indeterminacy
Temporal Becoming
A-theory of Time
Growing Block Theory
Quantum Gravity
Causal Set Theory
Time-Travel
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
Grandjean, Vincent
The Asymmetric Nature of Time
title The Asymmetric Nature of Time
title_full The Asymmetric Nature of Time
title_fullStr The Asymmetric Nature of Time
title_full_unstemmed The Asymmetric Nature of Time
title_short The Asymmetric Nature of Time
title_sort asymmetric nature of time
topic Open Future concept
Fixed Past concept
Future Contingents of time
Bivalence
Indeterminism
Metaphysical Indeterminacy
Temporal Becoming
A-theory of Time
Growing Block Theory
Quantum Gravity
Causal Set Theory
Time-Travel
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
topic_facet Open Future concept
Fixed Past concept
Future Contingents of time
Bivalence
Indeterminism
Metaphysical Indeterminacy
Temporal Becoming
A-theory of Time
Growing Block Theory
Quantum Gravity
Causal Set Theory
Time-Travel
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDA Philosophy of science
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTJ Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHR Relativity physics
thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PH Physics::PHQ Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
url ONIX_20221014_9783031097638_2
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