Critical Introduction to the Metaphysics of Time

What is the nature of time? Do the past and future exist? If so, are they just as real as the present? Drawing connections between timeless historical and present-day questions, A Critical Introduction to the Metaphysics of Time provides an up-to-date guide to one of the most central and debated topics in contemporary metaphysics. Introducing the views and arguments of Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Newton and Kant, this accessible introduction covers the history of the philosophy of time from the Pre-Socratics to the beginning of the 20th Century. This comprehensive historical survey presents the necessary background to understanding more recent developments, including McTaggart's 1908 argument for the reality of time, the open future, the perdurance/endurance debate, the possibility of time travel, and the arrow of time and the relevance of current physics to the philosophy of time. Informed by cutting-edge philosophical research, A Critical Introduction to the Metaphysics of Time evaluates influential historical arguments in the context of contemporary developments. For students looking to gain insights into how approaches and ideas to the philosophy of time have changed and better understand recent argument, this is the ideal starting point.