Read more
Originally published in 1980. What is time? How is its structure determined? The enduring controversy about the nature and structure of time has traditionally been a diametrical argument between those who see time as a container into which events are placed, and those for whom time cannot exist without events. This controversy between the absolutist and the relativist theories of time is a central theme of this study. The author's impressive arguments provide grounds for rejecting both these theories, firstly by establishing that 'empty' time is possible, and secondly by showing, through a discussion of the structure of time which involves considering whether time might be cyclical, branching, beginning or non-beginning, that the absolutist theory of time is untenable. This book then advances two new theories, and succeeds in shifting the traditional debate about time to a consideration of time as a theoretical structure and as a theoretical framework.
List of contents
Preface 1. The Nature of Time 2. Time and Change 3. The Topology of Time I: The Linearity of Time 4. The Topology ofTime II: The Unity of Time 5. The Topology of Time III: The Beginning of Time 6. The Topology of Time IV: The Micro-aspects 7. The Metric of Time 8. The Special Theory of Relativity 9. The Direction of Time 10. Towards a Positive Theory. Appendix: Properties of Relations
About the author
W. H. Newton-Smith
Summary
Originally published in 1980. The author's arguments here provide grounds for rejecting both the absolutist and the relativist theories of time and presents two new theories, shifting the traditional debate to a consideration of time as a theoretical structure and theoretical framework.
