Time and the Metaphysics of Relativity / Edition 1

by W.L. Craig

Overview

he present volume is part of a larger project, which is the attempt to draft a T coherent doctrine of divine eternity and God's relationship to time. In my God, l Time, and Eternity, I argued that whether one construes divine eternity in terms of timelessness or of omnitemporality will depend'''crucially upon one's views about the objectivity of tensed facts and temporal becoming. If one adopts a tensed, or in McTaggart's terminology, an A-Theory of time, then a coherent doctrine of divine eternity requires that one construe God, at least since the moment of creation, to exist temporally, which implies that divine timelessness can be successfully maintained only if a tenseless or B-Theory of time is correct. Accordingly in my companion volumes The Tensed Theory of Time: a Critical Examination and The Tenseless Theory of Time: a Critical Examination I set for myself. the task of 2 adjudicating the A- vs. B-Theory of time. In the former volume; r examine arguments for and against the A-Theory of time, and in the latter l' tum to an examination of arguments for and against the B-Theory. This inquiry tookme into a study of relativity theory,. its presuppositions and implications. The paucity of integrative literature dealing with the concept of. God and· relativity theory is striking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780792366683
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	12/31/2000
Series:	Philosophical Studies Series , #84
Edition description:	2001
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.03(d)

Table of Contents

1 The Historical Background of Special Relativity.- 2 Einstein’s Special Theory.- 3 Time Dilation and Length Contraction.- 4 Empirical Confirmation of Special Relativity.- 5 Two Relativistic Interpretations.- 6 The Classical Concept of Time.- 7 The Positivistic Foundations of Relativity Theory.- 8 The Elimination of Absolute Time.- 9 Absolute Time and Relativistic Time.- 10 God’s Time and General Relativty.- 11 Conclusion.- Proper Name Index.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

"In this book, Craig draws some important strands together regarding the concept of God and relativity theory. … In his excellent, integrative work, Craig has superbly brought together a tensed (A-) theory of time, divine temporality, and neo-Lorentzian relativity." (Paul Copan, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. LVI (223), 2003)

From the Publisher