
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1. Introduction 1. Introduction
-
1.1 Three paths to passage 1.1 Three paths to passage
-
-
2. Is there an Objective ‘Present Moment’? 2. Is there an Objective ‘Present Moment’?
-
2.1 Comparison with McTaggart 2.1 Comparison with McTaggart
-
-
3. An Objective Direction of Time? 3. An Objective Direction of Time?
-
3.1 Boltzmann's Copernican moment 3.1 Boltzmann's Copernican moment
-
3.2 Orientability: necessary but not sufficient 3.2 Orientability: necessary but not sufficient
-
3.3 Earman v. Reichnbach 3.3 Earman v. Reichnbach
-
3.4 Earman's Heresy 3.4 Earman's Heresy
-
3.5 Earman and the no direction option 3.5 Earman and the no direction option
-
3.6 Great heroics 3.6 Great heroics
-
3.7 Modal collapse? 3.7 Modal collapse?
-
3.8 Counting worlds 3.8 Counting worlds
-
3.9 Three grades of temporal asymmetry 3.9 Three grades of temporal asymmetry
-
3.9.1 The epistemology of anisotropy 3.9.1 The epistemology of anisotropy
-
3.9.2 An arrow that couldn't point backwards? 3.9.2 An arrow that couldn't point backwards?
-
3.9.3 Initial conditions 3.9.3 Initial conditions
-
3.9.4 A causal arrow as the key to the temporal arrow? 3.9.4 A causal arrow as the key to the temporal arrow?
-
-
3.10 Maudlin v. Boltzmann on ‘backward brains’ 3.10 Maudlin v. Boltzmann on ‘backward brains’
-
3.11 Summary 3.11 Summary
-
-
4. Objective Flux? 4. Objective Flux?
-
4.1 Objections to flow 4.1 Objections to flow
-
-
5. Proving the Pudding 5. Proving the Pudding
-
5.1 The flow of time as a secondary quality 5.1 The flow of time as a secondary quality
-
5.2 Eddington's challenge 5.2 Eddington's challenge
-
-
References References
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9 The Flow of Time
Get accessHuw Price is ARC Federation Fellow, Challis Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Centre for Time at the University of Sydney. His publications include Facts and the Function of Truth (Blackwell, 1988), Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point (OUP, 1996), and Naturalism Without Mirrors (OUP, 2010), a recent collection of his essays on pragmatism and naturalism. He is also co‐editor (with Richard Corry) of Causation, Physics, and the Constitution of Reality: Russell's Republic Revisited (OUP, 2007).
-
Published:02 September 2011
Cite
Abstract
Might the explanation of some temporal asymmetries simply be that time itself is asymmetric? Some people believe that time flows, and others that it is intrinsically directed. But what do such claims mean, precisely? This chapter considers three ways of understanding flow—through a distinguished present, an objective temporal direction, and a flux-like character—and finds them all wanting. It considers, in particular, the idea that the world possesses a time orientation, critically scrutinizing the theories of John Earman and Tim Mauldin on temporal orientation and time's arrow.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 12 |
November 2022 | 17 |
December 2022 | 15 |
January 2023 | 17 |
February 2023 | 13 |
March 2023 | 12 |
April 2023 | 17 |
May 2023 | 21 |
June 2023 | 12 |
July 2023 | 9 |
August 2023 | 42 |
September 2023 | 8 |
October 2023 | 24 |
November 2023 | 32 |
December 2023 | 12 |
January 2024 | 27 |
February 2024 | 26 |
March 2024 | 29 |
April 2024 | 32 |
May 2024 | 13 |
June 2024 | 7 |
July 2024 | 17 |
August 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 18 |
October 2024 | 28 |
November 2024 | 18 |
December 2024 | 7 |
January 2025 | 8 |
February 2025 | 11 |
March 2025 | 32 |
April 2025 | 9 |
May 2025 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.