What do you think?
Rate this book
Philosophy of Time: A Contemporary Introduction
As a growing area of research, the philosophy of time is increasingly relevant to different areas of philosophy and even other disciplines. This book describes and evaluates the most important debates in philosophy of time, under several subject areas: metaphysics, epistemology, physics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, rationality, and art.
Questions this book investigates include the following. Can we know what time really is? Is time possible, especially given modern physics? Must there be time because we cannot think without it? What do we experience of time? How might philosophy of time be relevant to understanding the mind-body relationship or evidence in cognitive science? Can the philosophy of time help us understand biases toward the future and the fear of death? How is time relevant to art--and is art relevant to philosophical debates about time? Finally, what exactly could time travel be? And could time travel satisfy emotions such as nostalgia and regret?
Through asking such questions, and showing how they might be best answered, the book demonstrates the importance philosophy of time has in contemporary thought. Each of the book's ten chapters begins with a helpful introduction and ends with study questions and an annotated list of further reading. This and a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book prepare the reader to go further in their study of the philosophy of time.
Questions this book investigates include the following. Can we know what time really is? Is time possible, especially given modern physics? Must there be time because we cannot think without it? What do we experience of time? How might philosophy of time be relevant to understanding the mind-body relationship or evidence in cognitive science? Can the philosophy of time help us understand biases toward the future and the fear of death? How is time relevant to art--and is art relevant to philosophical debates about time? Finally, what exactly could time travel be? And could time travel satisfy emotions such as nostalgia and regret?
Through asking such questions, and showing how they might be best answered, the book demonstrates the importance philosophy of time has in contemporary thought. Each of the book's ten chapters begins with a helpful introduction and ends with study questions and an annotated list of further reading. This and a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book prepare the reader to go further in their study of the philosophy of time.
- GenresPhilosophyMetaphysics
310 pages, ebook
Published May 27, 2021
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 7, 2022
Clear, In-depth and Extensive: Essential reading for newcomers and readers of philosophy alike.
____________
One of the best introductory volumes I’ve come across. The structure bases each chapter around a different branch of philosophy and shows how the philosophy of time can be better understood from each perspective. I found this to be far more engaging than the typical structure of wach chapter using a specific problem/concept as a starting point and working outward from there, as the structure of this book came across as much more holistic and wide-ranging and led to the discussions of each topic to feel very in-depth. Each chapter ends with a comprehensive further reading list and some thought-provoking questions. I had initially just planned on reading a few individual chapters that I was specifically interested in, but the writing and breadth of discussion hooked me instantly and I ended up reading the whole book.
I would highly recommend this to those interested in any branch of philosophy, as Enda Power clearly showcases how the problems and theories of the philosophy of time are relevant across disciplines. While listed as an introduction, the discussion is thorough and comprehensive enough for me to recommend it to those who may feel they are already familiar with the philosophy of time, as Enda Power goes to great lengths to represent ideas and positions from across the broad spectrum of thinkers on the subject and draw them together in a way that will benefit readers with any level of prior knowledge. If you are completely new to philosophy, this might be a bit more of a challenge at times (the chapter on the ‘philosophy of language and time’ springs to mind as one that might be a bit daunting to a someone with no prior experience of reading any philosophy), but I assure you it will be worth the effort and the author does an excellent job at making it as accessible as possible without sacrificing any substance. A great example of this is the 4th chapter on physics, and while I didn’t feel like I had the strongest level of background knowledge going in I found this to be one of the most intellectually stimulating chapters and came away with both a much better understanding of some core principles and a desire to explore the topic more through further readings.
Finally, I’d like to briefly touch on the two concluding chapters, ‘Philosophy of Art and Time’ and ‘Philosophy of Time Travel’. These both serve as highly engaging and thoughful discussions on two areas that are seldom given direct attention. Coming from a background in film and music, I am perhaps slightly biased in favour of the Arts chapter as I found it highly relavent to my own crrative practice, but I believe it will still be beneficial to readers regardless of their own engagement with the arts given Enda Power’s handling of the topic. In regards to the final chapter on time travel, I felt this was pretty much the perfect a way to conclude the book. Reading it was a bit akin to eating desert after a good meal: deeply satisfying, and complimentary to what came before it. The topic is handled with as much due diligence as in any other chapter, and while it may have at first seemed a less worthy topic of a chapter in comparison to the other seemingly more grounded discussions, it ended up being one of my favourite chapters.
I was planning on concluding the review by giving each chapter a mini-rating and/or recommending which chapters to read in full (in the introduction the author mentions that each chapter can be read on its own), but having finished the book I really would just recommend reading it all the way through; I guarantee it will be worth your time.
____________
One of the best introductory volumes I’ve come across. The structure bases each chapter around a different branch of philosophy and shows how the philosophy of time can be better understood from each perspective. I found this to be far more engaging than the typical structure of wach chapter using a specific problem/concept as a starting point and working outward from there, as the structure of this book came across as much more holistic and wide-ranging and led to the discussions of each topic to feel very in-depth. Each chapter ends with a comprehensive further reading list and some thought-provoking questions. I had initially just planned on reading a few individual chapters that I was specifically interested in, but the writing and breadth of discussion hooked me instantly and I ended up reading the whole book.
I would highly recommend this to those interested in any branch of philosophy, as Enda Power clearly showcases how the problems and theories of the philosophy of time are relevant across disciplines. While listed as an introduction, the discussion is thorough and comprehensive enough for me to recommend it to those who may feel they are already familiar with the philosophy of time, as Enda Power goes to great lengths to represent ideas and positions from across the broad spectrum of thinkers on the subject and draw them together in a way that will benefit readers with any level of prior knowledge. If you are completely new to philosophy, this might be a bit more of a challenge at times (the chapter on the ‘philosophy of language and time’ springs to mind as one that might be a bit daunting to a someone with no prior experience of reading any philosophy), but I assure you it will be worth the effort and the author does an excellent job at making it as accessible as possible without sacrificing any substance. A great example of this is the 4th chapter on physics, and while I didn’t feel like I had the strongest level of background knowledge going in I found this to be one of the most intellectually stimulating chapters and came away with both a much better understanding of some core principles and a desire to explore the topic more through further readings.
Finally, I’d like to briefly touch on the two concluding chapters, ‘Philosophy of Art and Time’ and ‘Philosophy of Time Travel’. These both serve as highly engaging and thoughful discussions on two areas that are seldom given direct attention. Coming from a background in film and music, I am perhaps slightly biased in favour of the Arts chapter as I found it highly relavent to my own crrative practice, but I believe it will still be beneficial to readers regardless of their own engagement with the arts given Enda Power’s handling of the topic. In regards to the final chapter on time travel, I felt this was pretty much the perfect a way to conclude the book. Reading it was a bit akin to eating desert after a good meal: deeply satisfying, and complimentary to what came before it. The topic is handled with as much due diligence as in any other chapter, and while it may have at first seemed a less worthy topic of a chapter in comparison to the other seemingly more grounded discussions, it ended up being one of my favourite chapters.
I was planning on concluding the review by giving each chapter a mini-rating and/or recommending which chapters to read in full (in the introduction the author mentions that each chapter can be read on its own), but having finished the book I really would just recommend reading it all the way through; I guarantee it will be worth your time.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews