Intro to Philosophy of Time
Philosophy of time is an area of inquiry within metaphysics. Metaphysics is one of the four main branches of philosophy — the others being ethics / aesthetics, epistemology, and logic. Metaphysics explores the nature of reality, including what sorts of entities exist, and the nature of cause and effect.
The metaphysician JME McTaggart (1908) divided philosophy of time into two general camps:
- A-theory (or A-series), where time is seen as flowing and dynamic.
- B-theory (or B-series), where time is seen as static.
A-theorists tend to argue for their position by appealing to the scientific observations of cause and effect, and change — in which the arrow of time seems to be a necessary feature (for example, the motion of objects and entropy in thermodynamics). They may also appeal to general observation and our intuitive understanding of how time works.
B-theorists often appeal to the theory of relativity, which holds that there is no objective present moment that is the same for all observers. Rather, observers travelling at different speeds will experience time differently. They may also appeal to evidence from quantum mechanics, which seems to show that time emerges from the relationships between physical entities, rather than as a stable feature of the universe that can be labeled as past…
