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Real Time II
Real Time II extends and evolves DH Mellor's classic exploration of the philosophy of time, Real Time. This new book answers such basic metaphysical questions about time as: how do past, present and future differ, how are time and space related, what is change, is time travel possible? His Real Time dominated the philosophy of time for fifteen years. Real TIme II will do the same for the next twenty.
- GenresPhilosophyMetaphysics
164 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 1998
About the author
D.H. Mellor
18 books4 followersDavid Hugh Mellor, also known as Hugh Mellor and usually cited as D. H. Mellor, is a British philosopher. He is a former Professor of Philosophy and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, now Professor Emeritus, of Cambridge University.
Mellor was born in London. After studying chemical engineering at university, he took up philosophy.
His primary work is metaphysics, although his philosophical interests include philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, probability, time and causation, laws of nature and properties, and decision theory. Mellor was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College from 1971 to 2005. As a professor, he was the subject of extensive media coverage as the main opponent of the conferment of an honorary degree in philosophy to the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.
He was president of the Aristotelian Society from 1992 to 1993, a member of the Humanist Philosophers' Group of the British Humanist Association and Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He was a Fellow of the British Academy between 1983 and 2008. In retirement, Mellor now holds the title of Emeritus Professor.
Mellor was also an amateur theatre actor.
Mellor was born in London. After studying chemical engineering at university, he took up philosophy.
His primary work is metaphysics, although his philosophical interests include philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, probability, time and causation, laws of nature and properties, and decision theory. Mellor was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Darwin College from 1971 to 2005. As a professor, he was the subject of extensive media coverage as the main opponent of the conferment of an honorary degree in philosophy to the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.
He was president of the Aristotelian Society from 1992 to 1993, a member of the Humanist Philosophers' Group of the British Humanist Association and Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He was a Fellow of the British Academy between 1983 and 2008. In retirement, Mellor now holds the title of Emeritus Professor.
Mellor was also an amateur theatre actor.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 21, 2019
A good read! It’s a treatise on the nature of time, which made quite an impression on me when I read it. It presents a vision of the world in metaphysical categories. It tells you about the nature of time, the nature of space, things, objects, events, in a way that is connected, but not the same as the physics of time and space.
Hugh is someone who is very informed by those views and knows the physics of space and time very well. He uses his knowledge of those, and his philosophical arguments, to defend a view of time, where time is rather like space. I think the simplest way to put it is to say that there’s no such thing in reality as now, there’s nothing that marks out in fundamental reality, which time is now, any more than there’s something that marks out in the fundamental reality of space which place is here. Here is just where I am, and now is just the point in time which we’re thinking or uttering those words, so Hugh Mellor’s view has been called a block universe view of space and time.
Block universe in the sense that time is just one of the dimensions of space-time. It’s a view that is common in physics, that we should think of space-time as a whole, like a four-dimensional block. If you imagine things occurring within space-time are just regions of that block, four-dimensional regions of it, or what sometimes people call space-time worms. So, it’s called the block universe because time and space have the same ontological standing, that is to say, they exist in exactly the same way.
Lk
Hugh is someone who is very informed by those views and knows the physics of space and time very well. He uses his knowledge of those, and his philosophical arguments, to defend a view of time, where time is rather like space. I think the simplest way to put it is to say that there’s no such thing in reality as now, there’s nothing that marks out in fundamental reality, which time is now, any more than there’s something that marks out in the fundamental reality of space which place is here. Here is just where I am, and now is just the point in time which we’re thinking or uttering those words, so Hugh Mellor’s view has been called a block universe view of space and time.
Block universe in the sense that time is just one of the dimensions of space-time. It’s a view that is common in physics, that we should think of space-time as a whole, like a four-dimensional block. If you imagine things occurring within space-time are just regions of that block, four-dimensional regions of it, or what sometimes people call space-time worms. So, it’s called the block universe because time and space have the same ontological standing, that is to say, they exist in exactly the same way.
Lk
January 13, 2026
Unsure of how much I truly understood but interesting to learn about the different methods time is thought about. A theory/series: tenses; 'real' distinction/differentiation between past, present, and future; dynamic. B theory/series: tenseless; all time is 'real'...time is an illusion/subjective; static.
Block time is then based upon B theory and creates reality (space time) as a block (4-dimensions; 3 space, 1 time). Block contains all universe and all time. Objects relative motion then impact where their present state is.
Block time is then based upon B theory and creates reality (space time) as a block (4-dimensions; 3 space, 1 time). Block contains all universe and all time. Objects relative motion then impact where their present state is.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews