Time and Identity

Time and Identity PDF Author: Joseph Keim Campbell
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262014092
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
Original essays on the metaphysics of time, identity, and the self, written by distinguished scholars and important rising philosophers.The concepts of time and identity seem at once unproblematic and frustratingly difficult. Time is an intricate part of our experience—it would seem that the passage of time is a prerequisite for having any experience at all—and yet recalcitrant questions about time remain. Is time real? Does time flow? Do past and future moments exist? Philosophers face similarly stubborn questions about identity, particularly about the persistence of identical entities through change. Indeed, questions about the metaphysics of persistence take on many of the complexities inherent in philosophical considerations of time. This volume of original essays brings together these two essentially related concepts in a way not reflected in the available literature, making it required reading for philosophers working in metaphysics and students interested in these topics. The contributors, distinguished authors and rising scholars, first consider the nature of time and then turn to the relation of identity, focusing on the metaphysical connections between the two, with a special emphasis on personal identity. The volume concludes with essays on the metaphysics of death, issues in which time and identity play a significant role. This groundbreaking collection offers both cutting-edge epistemological analysis and historical perspectives on contemporary topics.ContributorsHarriet Baber, Lynne Rudder Baker, Ben Bradley, John W. Carroll, Reinaldo Elugardo, Geoffrey Gorham, Mark Hinchliff, Jenann Ismael, Barbara Levenbook, Andrew Light, Lawrence B. Lombard, Ned Markosian, Harold Noonan, John Perry, Harry S. Silverstein, Matthew H. Slater, Robert J. Stainton, Neil A. Tognazzini

Time and Identity

Time and Identity PDF Author: Joseph Keim Campbell
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262014092
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 339

Get Book Here

Book Description
Original essays on the metaphysics of time, identity, and the self, written by distinguished scholars and important rising philosophers.The concepts of time and identity seem at once unproblematic and frustratingly difficult. Time is an intricate part of our experience—it would seem that the passage of time is a prerequisite for having any experience at all—and yet recalcitrant questions about time remain. Is time real? Does time flow? Do past and future moments exist? Philosophers face similarly stubborn questions about identity, particularly about the persistence of identical entities through change. Indeed, questions about the metaphysics of persistence take on many of the complexities inherent in philosophical considerations of time. This volume of original essays brings together these two essentially related concepts in a way not reflected in the available literature, making it required reading for philosophers working in metaphysics and students interested in these topics. The contributors, distinguished authors and rising scholars, first consider the nature of time and then turn to the relation of identity, focusing on the metaphysical connections between the two, with a special emphasis on personal identity. The volume concludes with essays on the metaphysics of death, issues in which time and identity play a significant role. This groundbreaking collection offers both cutting-edge epistemological analysis and historical perspectives on contemporary topics.ContributorsHarriet Baber, Lynne Rudder Baker, Ben Bradley, John W. Carroll, Reinaldo Elugardo, Geoffrey Gorham, Mark Hinchliff, Jenann Ismael, Barbara Levenbook, Andrew Light, Lawrence B. Lombard, Ned Markosian, Harold Noonan, John Perry, Harry S. Silverstein, Matthew H. Slater, Robert J. Stainton, Neil A. Tognazzini

The Metaphysics of Identity

The Metaphysics of Identity PDF Author: André Gallois
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135015678
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The philosophical problem of identity and the related problem of change go back to the ancient Greek philosophers and fascinated later figures including Leibniz, Locke, and Hume. Heraclitus argued that one could not swim in the same river twice because new waters were ever flowing in. When is a river not the same river? If one removes one plank at a time when is a ship no longer a ship? What is the basic nature of identity and persistence? In this book, André Gallois introduces and assesses the philosophical puzzles posed by things persisting through time. Beginning with essential historical background to the problem he explores the following key topics and debates: mereology and identity, including arguments from 'Leibniz's Law' the constitution view of identity the 'relative identity' argument concerning identity temporary identity four-dimensionalism, counterpart and multiple counterpart theory supervenience the problem of temporary intrinsics the necessity of identity Indeterminate identity presentism criteria of identity conventionalism about identity. Including chapter summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking a clear and informative introduction to and assessment of the metaphysics of identity.

The Metaphysics of Identity over Time

The Metaphysics of Identity over Time PDF Author: D. Oderberg
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230377386
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
This book is a systematic investigation into the metaphysical foundations of identity over time. The author elaborates and evaluates the most common theory about the persistence of objects through time and change, namely the classical theory of spatio-temporal continuity. He shows how the theory requires an ontology of temporal parts, according to which objects are made up of temporally extended segments or stages. This ontology is criticized as unwarranted by modern space-time physics, and as internally incoherent. The author argues that identity over time should be seen as a primitive or unanalysable phenomenon, and that the so-called puzzle cases and paradoxes of identity can be dealt with without recourse to such an ontology.

The Possibility of Metaphysics

The Possibility of Metaphysics PDF Author: E. J. Lowe
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN: 0191519146
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
Jonathan Lowe argues that metaphysics should be restored to a central position in philosophy, as the most fundamental form of rational inquiry, whose findings underpin those of all other disciplines. He portrays metaphysics as charting the possibilities of existence, by idetifying the categories of being and the relations of ontological dependency between entities of different categories. He proceeds to set out a unified and original metaphysical system: he defends a substance ontology, according to which the existence of the world s one world in time depends upon the existence of persisting things which retain their identity over time and through processes of qualitative change. And he contends that even necessary beings, such as the abstract objects of mathematics, depend ultimately for their existence upon there being a concrete world of enduring substances. Within his system of metaphysics Lowe seeks to answer many of the deepest and most challenging questions in philosophy.

A Companion to the Philosophy of Time

A Companion to the Philosophy of Time PDF Author: Adrian Bardon
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118522052
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 608

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Book Description
A Companion to the Philosophy of Time presents the broadest treatment of this subject yet; 32 specially commissioned articles - written by an international line-up of experts – provide an unparalleled reference work for students and specialists alike in this exciting field. The most comprehensive reference work on the philosophy of time currently available The first collection to tackle the historical development of the philosophy of time in addition to covering contemporary work Provides a tripartite approach in its organization, covering history of the philosophy of time, time as a feature of the physical world, and time as a feature of experience Includes contributions from both distinguished, well-established scholars and rising stars in the field

The Metaphysics of Identity Over Time

The Metaphysics of Identity Over Time PDF Author: David S. Oderberg
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312102081
Category : Continuity.
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The standard account of the persistence of objects through time and change is the classical theory of spatio-temporal continuity. It is thought that an informative grounding of identity can be given in terms of what is seen to be a common-sense notion. Apart from being prone to numerous counter-examples which show continuity to be neither necessary nor sufficient for identity, it is also shown to require an ontology of temporal parts by which persisting objects are reduced to collections of temporally extended segments or stages. It is this ontology, and the reductionism it implies that is the subject of the author's criticism. It is the orthodox theory of identity over time, inspired by David Hume and adhered to by the vast majority of contemporary theorists. Identity and change, the very idea of unitary persisting objects, are seen as metaphysically illusory. The author shows that this sceptical theory is, contrary to the opinion of its supporters, unwarranted by the modern physics of space-time, and conceptually incoherent. It is argued that reductionism must be discarded and that theorists must abandon the attempt to find an informative analysis of identity. Rather, it should be seen as metaphysically basic, and the problems and puzzle cases of identity must be dealt with in that light.

The Persistence of Persons

The Persistence of Persons PDF Author: Valerio Buonomo (Ed.)
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3868385894
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
We ordinarily believe that the inhabitants of the world – including ourselves – persist over time. Such an idea, however, has puzzled philosophers for centuries. How can we change and still be the same? More specifically, is there any constitutive condition of our identity over time? And if so, does this condition involve mental aspects (such as memories, believes, experiences, etc.), physical aspects (such as the body, or the continuity of the organism), or something else? Or is rather personal identity primitive and unanalyzable, so that our persistence is nothing but a brute fact? This volume is a collection of new essays from leading figures in the field analyzing the persistence of persons and the criteria of personal identity over time. It presents an extensive discussion of the most relevant views on personal identity in contemporary metaphysics and provides new treatments of the constitutive conditions of personal persistence.

The Essence of the Self

The Essence of the Self PDF Author: Geoffrey Madell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317584139
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
In this volume, Geoffrey Madell develops a revised account of the self, making a compelling case for why the "simple" or "anti-criterial" view of personal identity warrants a robust defense. Madell critiques recent discussions of the self for focusing on features which are common to all selves, and which therefore fail to capture the uniqueness of each self. In establishing his own view of personal identity, Madell proposes (a) that there is always a gap between ‘A is f and g’ and ‘I am f and g’; (b), that a complete description of the world offered without recourse to indexicals will fail to account for the contingent truth that I am one of the persons described; and (c), that an account of conscious perspectives on the world must take into account what it means for an apparently arbitrary one of these perspectives to be mine. Engaging with contemporary positions on the first person, embodiment, psychological continuity, and other ongoing arguments, Madell contends that there can be no such thing as a criterion of personal identity through time, that no bodily or psychological continuity approach to the issue can succeed, and that personal identity through time must be absolute, not a matter of degree. Madell’s view that the nature of the self is substantively different from that of objects in the world will generate significant discussion and debate among philosophers of mind.

Philosophy of Personal Identity and Multiple Personality

Philosophy of Personal Identity and Multiple Personality PDF Author: Logi Gunnarsson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135212813
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
As witnessed by recent films such as Fight Club and Identity, our culture is obsessed with multiple personality—a phenomenon raising intriguing questions about personal identity. This study offers both a full-fledged philosophical theory of personal identity and a systematic account of multiple personality. Gunnarsson combines the methods of analytic philosophy with close hermeneutic and phenomenological readings of cases from different fields, focusing on psychiatric and psychological treatises, self-help books, biographies, and fiction. He develops an original account of personal identity (the authorial correlate theory) and offers a provocative interpretation of multiple personality: in brief, "multiples" are right about the metaphysics but wrong about the facts.

A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person

A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person PDF Author: Hud Hudson
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801438899
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Hud Hudson presents an innovative view of the metaphysics of human persons according to which human persons are material objects but not human organisms. In developing his account, he formulates and defends a unique collection of positions on parthood, persistence, vagueness, composition, identity, and various puzzles of material constitution.The author also applies his materialist metaphysics to issues in ethics and in the philosophy of religion. He examines the implications for ethics of his metaphysical views for standard arguments addressing the moral permissibility of our treatment of human persons and their parts, fetuses and infants, the irreversibly comatose, and corpses. He argues that his metaphysics provides the best foundation in the philosophy of religion for the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body.Hudson addresses a broad range of metaphysical issues, but among his most strikingly original contributions are his defense of the "Partist" view (according to which a material object can exactly occupy multiple, overlapping regions of spacetime) and his argument for the compatibility of Christianity with a materialistic theory of human persons.