Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xm8r8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T21:29:49.492Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Time and world quantifiers

from PART II - PREDICATE LOGIC: TENSE AND MODAL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

A. A. Rini
Affiliation:
Massey University, Auckland
M. J. Cresswell
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington
Get access

Summary

The first aim of the present chapter is to explain how the extensions to the modal and tense predicate languages that we presented in Chapter 7 amount in power to a language with explicit quantification over times and worlds. A second aim is to explain how such a language is in turn equivalent to a tenseless and non-modal language of the kind referred to on p. 4. As a result, when we make precise the distinction between presentism and eternalism, or the distinction between actualism and possibilism, as presented in Chapter 4, it will become clear why there can be no logical argument to decide the metaphysical debate between them. This chapter can be omitted by those who are prepared to take on trust that these languages do have such power. Suppose that we have a language in which there are variables for moments of time. Let us use the boldface variables t1, t2 and so on to stand for the temporal variables, and t1, t2, etc. to refer to moments of time. So when we say that t refers to t we mean that the temporal variable in the object language refers to the moment of time t. t is a linguistic item, a temporal variable, while t is a time, a part of the physical universe. With this in mind use [t] to mean ‘it is true at t that’, where t refers to t.

Type
Chapter
Information
The World-Time Parallel
Tense and Modality in Logic and Metaphysics
, pp. 85 - 96
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×