Dan Giberman: Pop-Up Eternalism

Abstract

I outline a species of A-theoretic eternalism according to which only present times are spatial. That is to say, spacetime is such that the temporal dimension eternally exists and, at times that are present, the temporal dimension co-exists with spatial dimensions. When a time becomes past, it still (even from the perspective of the present) contains objects that exemplify properties, including (temporally) manifested dispositions. However, the objects located at those past times are only temporally located, since only the temporal dimension (and no spatial dimension) is at those times, now that they are past. While these past objects exemplify properties, they do not manifest spatial exemplification of their properties. Rather, properties like being round, red, crisp, and juicy are dispositional in a sense hitherto unexplored: they are disposed to manifest spatially only at times that are present and at which they are exemplified. Unlike some other views that invoke dispositions for similar uses, such as Kristie Miller’s cresting wave moving spotlight theory, dispositions in this case can manifest even when not present, they just don’t manifest with spatial exemplification.
I call the theory ‘pop-up eternalism’ because according to it, spacetime is similar to a pop-up picture book: the open page is like the present and is spatially privileged relative to the closed pages in that it is “popped up”. Nonetheless, the book’s closed pages (the past and future) all exist, all have contents (even temporally manifested ones), and all are disposed to manifest those contents spatially—to pop up—if they become the page to which the book is opened.
 

*

If you wish to participate online, you can request the link using the contact card above.