metaphysics

Aristotle's conclusion on time

There is no such thing as time; it either does not exist or exists obscured.

Temporal Vacuum

A time in which nothing happens; no change takes place.

Leibniz's Measurement Argument Against Temporal Vacua

Periods of time are measured by changes, hence without change, there is no specific length.

Leibniz's Sufficient Reason Argument Against Temporal Vacua

If there’s been a temporal vacuum, changes that resume afterwards would lack explanation.

Relationist Theory of Time

Time is an ordered series of events; it relies on relationships between events.

Absolutist Theory of Time

Time exists independently of change, allowing for the possibility of vacuums.

Modal Statements

Statements concerning what is possible or necessary.

Armstrong's Combinatorial Theory of Possibility

Possibilities can be visualized as a grid of particulars and properties.

Objection to Armstrong's Argument

His theory allows for too many possibilities and may not deliver sufficient options.

Super-task

An infinite series of tasks undertaken in a finite time.

Zeno's Paradoxes

Arguments that illustrate the contradictions inherent in motion and time, particularly through infinite tasks.

Achilles Paradox

A paradox illustrating that Achilles can never overtake the tortoise due to infinite tasks.

Dichotomy Paradox

A paradox that suggests completing an infinite series of tasks is impossible.

Thomson's Lamp

A thought-experiment that argues against the possibility of supertasks.

Necessary Truth

Statements that are unchangeable and cannot be rationally rejected.

Possible Truth

Statements that may or may not hold under different circumstances or worlds.

Causal Asymmetry

The temporal relationships defined by the notion that one event causes another but not vice versa.

Thermodynamic Explanation of Time's Arrow

Defines time through the lens of entropy generation and thermodynamic processes.

Psychological Explanation of Time's Arrow

Suggests our perception of time is shaped by brain activity.

Instantaneous Motion

The concept that movement cannot be continuous but rather consists of discrete positions.

Metaphysical Possibility

The notion that something could exist in a possible state of affairs.

Finitism

The philosophical position that actual infinities do not exist, only potential infinities.

Infinite Tasks

A concept that challenges the possibility of completing an infinite number of tasks.

Temporal Directedness

The notion that time has a direction or flow from past to future.

Simultaneity in Events

The condition when events occur at the same time without causal relationship.

Causal Relationships

Connections between events where one event (the cause) influences another event (the effect).