Re: SUO: Metaphysics: a book report (long message)
Bill,
One quick comment below:
At 12:54 PM 9/6/2001 -0500, Bill Andersen wrote:
>On 9/6/01 09:56, "Pierluigi Miraglia" <miraglia@cyc.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hello. Since this is my first post, a self-introductory bit might be in
> > order: I work at Cycorp as an ontologist; a good portion of my time is
> > spent on 'temporal reasoning' issues. My training is as a philosopher of
> > logic and language.
> >
> > Thanks for this stimulating report. A few comments below; apologies if
> > these issues have been already addressed in the past (I joined only
> > recently).
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 05, 2001 at 08:24:23PM -0700, Adam Pease wrote:
> > ....
> >> "Typical endurantists are what we might call presentists...only what
> exists
> >> in the present really exists."
> >
> > Does Loux say much about the distinction between 'exists' and 'really
> > exists'?
>
>I think Adam misread what Loux said. The typical endurantist stand is that
>anything which exists, exists wholly at each time it exists. E.g., I
>existed when I was born, and I exist now, and I am that *same* thing as the
>thing that was born.
>
>I think Adam must have been talking about tensed time or something.
>
This is a direct quote from Loux, not my interpretation. What he means is
open to debate of course.
> >> "Perdurantists [assert that] ... all times, all things existing at those
> >> time...are equally real."
> >>
> >
> > Including things that may exist only in possible futures? Are these
> > considered at all? It seems that it would be coherent, from a
> > perdurantist standpoint, to say that there is a 'space-time worm',
> > somewhere in the 4d continuum, would have been my brother, if only the
> > chain of time points corresponding to the actual development of the world
> > had gone through that 'forgotten' region.
>
>You're right - I think you have to go to Counterpart Theory to account for
>modality in 4D.
>
> ..bill
>
>--
>Bill Andersen
>Chief Scientist, Ontology Works
>1132 Annapolis Road, Suite 104
>Odenton, Maryland, 21113
>Mobile: 443-858-6444
>Office: 410-674-7600
>
>Confidential & Proprietary Information
>Copyright 2001 Ontology Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adam Pease
Teknowledge
(650) 424-0500 x571