Talk: Thomas Sattig (Tübingen)

Title:

From Spacetime in Physics to Space and Time in Human Experience

Abstract:

On the tripartite approach to temporal passage, which has dominated classical and contemporary philosophy of time, the denizens of time undergo passage in virtue of changing with respect to what is past, what is present, and what is future. On the geometrical approach, the denizens of time undergo passage in virtue of being temporally organized in a manner that does not involve the holding of any geometrical relations among them. I develop and defend two claims. One concerns the distinction between physical passage and experiential passage. The other concerns the distinction between tripartite passage and geometrical passage. First, physical spacetime does not contain passage. Passage is an experiential illusion. Second, experiential passage is not tripartite passage. Experiential passage is geometrical passage.