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As we navigate through life we instinctively model time as having a flowing present that divides a fixed past from open future. This model develops in childhood and is deeply saturated within our language, thought and behavior, affecting our conceptions of the universe, freedom and the self. Yet as central as it is to our lives, physics seems to have no room for this flowing present. What Makes Time Special? demonstrates this claim in detail and then turns to two novel positive tasks. First, by looking at the world "sideways" - in the spatial directions -- it shows that physics is not "spatializing time" as is commonly alleged. Even relativity theory makes significant distinctions between the spacelike and timelike directions, often with surprising consequences. Second, if the flowing present is an illusion, it is a deep one worthy of explanation. The author develops a picture whereby the temporal flow arises as an interaction effect between an observer and the physics of the world.
Using insights from philosophy, cognitive science, biology, psychology and physics, the theory claims that the flowing present model of time is the natural reaction to the perceptual and evolutionary challenges thrown at us. Modeling time as flowing makes sense even if it misrepresents it.
List of contents
- 1: The Problem of Time
- 2: Lost Time: Relativity Theory
- 3: Tearing Spacetime Asunder
- 4: Quantum Becoming?
- 5: Intimations of Quantum Gravitational Time
- 6: The Differences Between Time and Space
- 7: Laws, Systems, and Time
- 8: Looking at the World Sideways
- 9: Do We Experience the Present?
- 10: Stuck in the Common Now
- 11: The Flow of Time: Stitching the World Together
- 12: Explaining the Temporal Value Asymmetry
- 13: Moving Past the ABCs of Time
- 14: Putting It All Together
About the author
Craig Callender is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego.
Summary
The flow of time is a deep, significant and universal aspect of human life. Yet it remains a mystery and many dismiss the flow of time as illusory. Craig Callender explores this puzzle, and offers a fascinating explanation of why creatures experience time as flowing - even if, as physics suggests, it isn't.
Additional text
'Time is a big invisible thing that will kill you' (p. 1). I cannot think of a more striking opening sentence to a work of philosophy in recent times - or at any time, for that matter. What follows is a comprehensive tour of philosophy of time from Callender's perspective, written with great insight, as well as wit and flair. ... Callender has written a survey of issues in philosophy of time from a broadly naturalistic perspective. It is rich in detail and argument. ... Anyone interested in understanding time will be rewarded by further digging.
Report
Without question, I am extremely enthusiastic about Callender's book. It is bursting at the seams with insight and ingenuity. It is written with great clarity and flow, traversing complex, advanced material with the ease of a true master. What Makes Time Special? is a seminal contribution to the field, comparable to classics such as D. H. Mellor's Real Time and Paul Horwich's Asymmetries in Time. It is an engaging and exciting piece of scientific philosophy that will stand the test of time. Anyone interested in the issues it addresses should read it. M. Joshua Mozersky, Metascience
