Is Time Real? A Work in Progress
Joel McDaniel, Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, College of Arts and Sciences and
Honors College
Faculty Mentor: Pete A. Y. Gunter – Regents’ University Professor of Philosophy, Department of
Philosophy and Religion Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
Title
Questions concerning the reality of time are difficult to answer for myriad reasons. Several hypotheses have been forwarded in
recent years, including presentism and the complete rejection of time as a reality. Physicists have hypothesized a third choice by
asserting that time is a reality—not only the present, but the past and future as well. As another dimension, time is useful to scientists
in performing calculations of relativity as well as quantum mechanics. As I continue my research I hope to grasp the conceptions of
time according to multiple scholars and formulate a theory of my own.
References
Davies, Paul. "THAT MYSTERIOUS FLOW." Scientific American Special Edition 16.1 (Feb 2006 Special Edition 2006): 6-11. Academic
Search Complete. EBSCO. University of North Texas Library, Denton, TX. 12 February 2008.
<https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19929040&site=eh
ost-live&scope=site>.
Hoy, Ronald C. "Parmenides’ Complete Rejection of Time." Journal of Philosophy 91.11 (Nov. 1994): 573. Academic Search Complete.
EBSCO. University of North Texas Library, Denton, TX. 12 February 2008.
<https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9503021290&site=
ehost-live&scope=site>.
Mason, Franklin. "What is presentism?." Southern Journal of Philosophy 44.1 (Spring 2006): 107-128. Academic Search Complete.
EBSCO. University of North Texas Library, Denton, TX. 12 February 2008.
<https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=20415849&site=eh
ost-live&scope=site>.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people for making this opportunity possible:
Dr. Wendy Wilkins. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Warren Burggren, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Gloria Cox, Dean, Honors College
“When asked, 'What did God do before he created the
universe?' St. Augustine didn´t reply, 'he was preparing Hell
for people who asked such questions.' Instead, he said that
time was a property of the universe that God created, and
that time did not exist before the beginning of the universe.”
-Stephen Hawking
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