Course Intro

Course title: Philosophy of Time
Teacher: Emiliano Boccardi (emiliano.boccardi@gmail.com)

Part I: Course aims and objectives

Conceptions of time have always played a fundamental role in our philosophical and scientific understanding of the world and of ourselves. They have become especially important in the XX century, and even more during the past few decades. The primary goal of this course is to introduce and discuss most contemporary philosophical views about time and a number of related philosophical problems. What is the present? How does it differ from the past and the future? If things really change, must we think that facts change too? Is the passage of time real or, like Einstein thought, is it but a “persistent illusion”? What does it take for an object to persist through time while remaining identical to itself? Finally, we shall discuss the philosophical import of contemporary physics as to the nature of time. In particular, we shall discuss whether accepting Einstein’s theory of relativity forces us to radically change our philosophical intuitions about the nature of time and passage (a brief introduction to the theory will be provided. No previous knowledge of advanced mathematics or physics is required). The course will be articulated in two weakly sessions. The first two-hour session will consist of lectures introducing the relevant topics; the second will be devoted to the relevant literature and to its critical evaluation.

Part II: Readings in the Philosophy of Time

This part of the course is devoted to the critical discussion of a number of readings relevant to the topics introduced during the lectures. It also aims at clarifying, through examples and exercises, the technical concepts needed to understand some of the material. Students will be asked to read the papers in advance, and to briefly present (in turn) the readings. The goals of this part of the course are the following:

1. Acquire sufficient familiarity with relevant texts in the Philosophy of Time.
2. Acquire and master the most basic technical notions needed to understand the reading material.
3. Participate in class discussions concerning the issues treated during the lectures and those that emerge in the assigned readings.
4. Demonstrate comprehension of key concepts, tenets, and arguments from assigned readings, with awareness of the complexity and nuance within the views expressed in those readings.
5. Recognise and discuss connections between assigned reading material and issues relevant to our lives.