RUcore Resource Object
RUcore Resource Object
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TitleThe A-theory
NameSullivan, Meghan (author), Zimmerman, Dean (chair), Egan, Andy (internal member), King, Jeffrey (internal member), Sider, Theodore (outside member), Rutgers University, Graduate School - New Brunswick,
Degree Date2011-10
Date Created2011
SubjectPhilosophy,
Time—Sociological aspects,
Nominalism
DescriptionA-theories of time postulate a fundamental distinction between the present and other times. This distinction manifests in what A-theorists take to exist, their accounts of property change, and their views about the appropriate temporal logic. In this dissertation, I argue for a particular formulation of the A-theory that dispenses with change in existence and makes tense operators an optional formal tool for expressing the key theses. I call my view the minimal A-theory. The first chapter introduces the debate. The second chapter offers an extended, logic-based argument against more traditional A-theories. The third and fourth chapters develop my alternative proposal. The final chapter considers a problem for A-theorists who think the contents of our attitudes reflect changes in the world.
NotePh. D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
NoteIncludes vita
Noteby Meghan Sullivan
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttp://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000063657
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.