LFU:online

Understanding contemporary philosophical debates about the nature of time.

This course investigates questions about the nature of time and the nature of temporal experience. Analytic philosophy of time tries to understand what time is like by taking into account on the one hand physics, and on the other hand cognitive science. It poses questions such as the following: Has modern physics discovered that time does not pass or flow? If so, is a pervasive aspect of our temporal experience illusory? Can cognitive science then help us explain how this illusion arises? Does time have an inherent direction, and if so, why? What does (space-) time consist in anyway, over and above the events that take place? No prior knowledge of physics or philosophy of time is required.

Lecture, group activities and discussions.

Written test.

Barry Dainton, 'Time and Space', Routledge 2010, 2nd rev. Edition; Craig Callender 'What makes time special?', Oxford University Press, 2016.

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