Eternal existents: in defence of the Williamsonian view of time

Thesis

My thesis is a development and defence of the "Williamsonian" view of time, a temporalmetaphysical theory based on Timothy Williamson’s (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) views concerning modality. As far as I am aware, the theory has never been developed or defended in print. The Williamsonian view is a version of the "a-theory" of time based on acceptance of the thesis of eternal existence, according to which always, everything always exists (i.e. everything exists eternally). I defend the Williamsonian view by showing that every other plausible temporal-metaphysical theory is subject to serious objections that cannot be raised against the Williamsonian view. I conclude that the Williamsonian view is the only plausible theory of time.

Authors: Deasy, DL

• Publication date: 2010
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-9ogkmze95
• Type of award: BPhil
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: philosophy of time; presentism; the a-theory; Timothy Williamson; Metaphysics
• Subjects: Metaphysics; Philosophy