Cane, Christabel Henrietta Stewart;
(2021)
Modal Perdurantism - An Integrated Space Time Ontology.
Masters thesis (M.Phil.Stud), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
I will explore a metaphysic that integrates space-time and possibility, advocating a unified approach to spatio-temporal and modal ontology. Specifically, I propose that we should explain change over time and difference across possible worlds with analogous strategies. I will endorse perdurantism, or the notion of ‘temporal parts’, and argue that we should also endorse ‘modal parts’: that is, just as objects exist across spacetime in virtue of having parts located at different times, so they exist across modal space by having modal parts located at different possible worlds. The aim of my project is, therefore, to show that it is, (contra Ted Sider) plausible to wed temporal perdurantism to its modal analogue, just as he weds his stage theory to its modal analogue of counterpart theory, and just as it is possible to wed endurantism to the modal theories of Kripke, McDaniel, Yagisawa and the actualists. I will argue that modal perdurantism, in virtue of making sense of our modal claims and providing as good a response to the Humphrey objection as possible, is the best modal theory on offer. This reason, twinned with the reason that perdurantism is the best account of how objects persist because it provides the best answer to the problem of temporary intrinsics, constitutes enough evidence to take seriously a dual integrated modal and temporal perdurantism. I will also extol the virtue of holding an integrated modal and temporal metaphysics, and show that doing so in the case of perdurantism brings with it the gift of a conceptually consistent solution to the problems of temporary and permanent coincidence.
| Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | M.Phil.Stud |
| Title: | Modal Perdurantism - An Integrated Space Time Ontology |
| Event: | UCL |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Philosophy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10130178 |
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