Other Times: Philosophical Perspectives on Past, Present and Future

by David Cockburn

Overview

Current approaches to the question of our position in time—such as those seen in disputes between tensed and tenseless theories, and between realist and anti-realist treatments of past and future—misconstrue the relation between metaphysics and ethics, and the way to characterize the kind of sense which tensed language has. In this original and thought-provoking study, David Cockburn argues that the notion of "reasons for emotion" must have a central place in any account of meaning, and that the present should have no priority in our understanding of tense.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521034081
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/15/2007
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Philosophy
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.46(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. Time and Tense: 1. Introduction; 2. Under the aspect of eternity; 3. The view from here; 4. Memory, emotions and the past; 5. The role of tense; 6. Tense and ontology; 7. The passage of time; Part II. Past, Present and Future: 8. The present; 9. The reality of the future; 10. Testimony, history and the real past; Part III. Time and Eternity: 11. Time and eternity in Spinoza and Weil; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"The book is clearly impressive in its scope and originality. In presenting the debate between the tensed and tenseless theories in an entirely new light, it provides a serious challenge to all who participate in it." Michele C. M. Beer, International Philosophical Quarterly

From the Publisher