The Passage of Time

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Manfred Stöckler
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy
• Term: from 2015 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 279556652

There are two different views in current philosophy of time that differ significantly on how to conceive of the so-called passage of time. The notion of passage is different from the concept of time intervals between events. We experience the passage of time in the change of past, present and future, or when we are relieved to have overcome a disease or impatiently expect an event in the near future. The metaphysics of time is concerned with locating this phenomenon within the whole of reality. According to the first view in the contemporary debate, passage is an objective and fundamental part of the world (for instance in the sense that at any given time only the present exists). The second view, by contrast, claims that the passage is merely a construction of our minds, so time in the world of physics does not pass. This project proposes a novel account that preserves correct intuitions of the two standard positions, while it aims to avoid their respective weaknesses. In particular, the project develops a novel theory of how to embed passage into four-dimensional spacetime. In the course of the project we will examine in detail how well the competing accounts explain various phenomena associated with the passage of time. Which account is doing best? And do they fit to other established theories, especially from fundamental physics? These tests should decide the dispute on the correct theory of passage.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants