•  174
    Special relativity and the future: A defense of the point present
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 39 (1): 82-101. 2008.
    In this paper, I defend a theory of local temporality, sometimes referred to as a point-present theory. This theory has the great advantage that it allows for the possibility of an open future without requiring any alterations to our standard understanding of special relativity. Such theories, however, have regularly been rejected out of hand as metaphysically incoherent. After surveying the debate, I argue that such a transformation of temporal concepts (i) is suggested by the indexical semanti…Read more
  •  183
    This paper argues that the Einstein-Minkowski space-time of special relativity provides an adequate model for classical tense logic, including rigorous definitions of tensed becoming and of the logical priority of proper time. In addition, the extension of classical tense logic with an operator for predicate-term negation provides us with a framework for interpreting and defending the significance of future contingency in special relativity. The framework for future contingents developed here in…Read more
  •  49
    Aristotle begins his famous discussion of time in Book Δ of The Physics by asking whether time belongs to “the things that exist.” In this paper I argue that Aristotle’s apparently ambiguous answer to this question holds one of the keys to clarifying contemporary philosophy of time. First, I argue that the metaphysical and meta-philosophical presuppositions underlying most philosophy of time are deeply flawed. Second, that Aristotle provides us with a much more plausible alternative set of presu…Read more
  •  123
    What "becomes" in temporal becoming?
    American Philosophical Quarterly 46 (3): 249-265. 2009.
    Aristotle begins his famous discussion of time in Book Δ of The Physics by asking whether time belongs to “the things that exist.” In this paper I argue that Aristotle’s apparently ambiguous answer to this question holds one of the keys to clarifying contemporary philosophy of time . First, I argue that the metaphysical and meta-philosophical presuppositions underlying most philosophy of time are deeply flawed. Second, that Aristotle provides us with a much more plausible alternative set of pres…Read more
  •  103
    This paper will argue that the puzzles about instantaneous velocity, and rates of change more generally, are the result of a failure to recognize an ambiguity in the concept of an instant, and therefore of an instantaneous state. We will conclude that there are two distinct conceptions of a temporal instant: (i) instants conceived as fundamentally distinct zero-duration temporal atoms and (ii) instants conceived as the boundary of, or between,temporally extended durations. Since the concept of c…Read more
  •  93
    Discussion Note: K. Miller “Enduring Special Relativity”
    Southern Journal of Philosophy 43 (2): 241-244. 2005.
  •  19
    This essay introduces a formal structure to model the indeterminacy of the future in Einstein-Minkowski space-time. We consider a first-order language, supplemented with an operator for predicate-term negation, and defend the claim that such an operation provides an appropriate model for the indeterminacy of future contingents. In the final section, it is proved that given a language otherwise adequate to represent a physical theory, at least some of the predicates of that language are indetermi…Read more
  •  9
    Work, Identity, and Legal Status at Rome: A Study of the Occupational Inscriptions by Sandra R. Joshel (review)
    Classical World: A Quarterly Journal on Antiquity 87 253-254. 1994.
  •  14
    International Law in Archaic Rome: War and Religion by Alan Watson (review)
    Classical World: A Quarterly Journal on Antiquity 88 207-207. 1995.
  •  7
    The Greeks in History by Alan E. Samuel (review)
    Classical World: A Quarterly Journal on Antiquity 87 521-522. 1994.
  •  14
    Cassius Dio: The Augustan Settlement by J. W. Rich & Cassius Dio (review)
    Classical World: A Quarterly Journal on Antiquity 86 177-177. 1992.
  •  14
    Trials in the Late Roman Republic 149 B.C. to 50 B.C. by Michael C. Alexander (review)
    Classical World: A Quarterly Journal on Antiquity 85 732-733. 1992.
  • "Becoming" is that feature of experiential time or of the organization of things in "psychological," "phenomenological" or "experiential" time that distinguishes things or times in the past from those in the future. For example, it is claimed that we are aware of a fundamental difference between events in the past, such as the Battle of Yorktown, and events in the future, such as an upcoming trip to France. Physics, it is claimed, does not make and cannot ground any such distinction. ;This thesi…Read more