Trouble on the horizon for presentism

Journal article

Baron, Samuel and Bihan, Baptiste Le. (2023). Trouble on the horizon for presentism. Philosophers' Imprint. 23(1), pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3998/phimp.823
AuthorsBaron, Samuel and Bihan, Baptiste Le
Abstract

Surface presentism is the combination of a general relativistic physics with a presentist metaphysics. In this paper, we provide an argument against this combination based on black holes. The problem focuses on the notion of an event horizon. We argue that the present locations of event horizons are ontologically dependent on future black hole regions, and that this dependence is incompatible with presentism. We consider five responses to the problem available to the surface presentist, and argue that none succeed. Surface presentism thus faces the prospect of empirical refutation based on the evidence available for the existence of black holes.

KeywordsPresentism; Ontological Dependence; Physics; Time; Black Holes
Year01 Jan 2023
JournalPhilosophers' Imprint
Journal citation23 (1), pp. 1-19
PublisherUniversity of Michigan Press
ISSN1533-628X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3998/phimp.823
Web address (URL)https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/phimp/article/id/823/
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range1-19
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PrintMar 2023
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Deposited07 Aug 2024
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© 2023, Sam Baron and Baptiste Le Bihan

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License

Place of publicationUnited States
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