List of Topics and Reading Assignments

.

List of topics and reading assignments

Philosophy 192D

and Liberal Arts 205

Spring semester 2007, Prof. Dowden

Week 1: Introduction. Measuring time and space.

topics: overview of the philosophical issues involving space and time; subjective vs. objective time; how clocks are accurate; the metric of space.

Reading: Pages 4-21 of Callender. Pay attention to the cartoons and graphics. Then read chapter 1 (pages 1-12) of Le Poidevin. [Page numbers are the same in the 2001 and 2005 editions of the Callender book.]

Week 2: Change.

topics: The relationship between time and change; Aristotle's relational theory of time; Descartes' re-creationist theory of time; God and time; Leibniz's relational theory of time; Shoemaker's thought experiment.

Reading: ch. 2 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 22-27 of Callender.

Weeks 3 and 4: Absolute space, the vacuum, and Einstein in a nutshell.

topics: Aristotle's theory of space; Newton's bucket experiment; the relationist-absolutist debate; Kant's right hand and its incongruent counterpart; Gauss' empirical test of the Pythagorean Theorem; the relative consistency of Riemannian geometry; pure vs. applied geometry; Einstein's special and general theories of relativity; Minkowski on space-time; time dilation and the twins paradox; how space makes its presence felt; Poincaré's conventionalism about geometry.

Reading: ch. 3 and ch. 4 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 38-42, 52-67, 90-97 of Callender.

Week 5: Beginning and end of time.

topics: Aristotle vs. Thomas Aquinas on the beginning of time; Kant's antinomies; Big Bang theory; expansion of space without expansion of atoms; finite vs. infinite past; cyclic time; and answering the cosmic question "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Reading: ch. 5 of Le Poidevin.

Week 6: Shape of space.

topics: topology of space; intrinsic vs. extrinsic curvature; the discovery of negative energy; Perelman and Poincaré's conjecture.

Reading: ch. 6 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 123-125, 131-132 of Callender.

Week 7: Infinity and paradox.

topics: Aristotle's distinction between actual and potential infinity; Zeno's paradoxes of motion; infinitesimals; Thomson's infinity lamp; atoms of time; atoms of space.

Reading: ch. 7 of Le Poidevin; http://www.iep.utm.edu/ancillaries/time-sup.htm#H18

Weeks 8 and 9: Time's passage and the block universe.

topics: myth of passage; tensed time vs. tenseless time; McTaggart's A-series and B-series; presentism; block universe; cinematic universe; Einstein's relativity of simultaneity.

Reading: ch. 8 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 32-42, 44-51, 66-67, 109-113 of Callender. And http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/time.htm#H10

Week 10: Motion in the present.

topics: Zeno's arrow paradox; further discussion of presentism.

midterm at beginning of week; then
Reading: ch. 9 of Le Poidevin. Page 43 of Callender.

Week 11: Time travel.

topics: travel to the future; travel to the past; changing the future; free will.

Reading: ch. 10 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 68-89, 98-117, 126-132 of Callender.

Week 12: QM and the multiverse.

topics: the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics; a photon in two places at once; multiple big bangs; the multiverse.

Reading: ch. 11 of Le Poidevin.

Week 13: Time's arrow.

topics: Loschmidt's entropy puzzle; multiple arrows of time; local vs. global time order; Nietzsche on Poincare's recurrence time; whether time can reverse.

Reading: ch. 12 of Le Poidevin. View part of the film "It's About Time." Pp. 127-132, 133-165 of Callender.

Week 14: More issues about space and time.

topics: Dirac-Milne multiple times; exotic possibilities.

Reading: Pp, 28-31, 118-122, 131-132, 166-169 of Callender. essay is due.

Week 15: Review

The above schedule of course topics may be changed somewhat as we progress through the semester, but this won't affect the schedule of the homework, essays and tests, which will not be changed.

PROF. DOWDEN / PHILOSOPHY DEPT. / CSUS
Updated: May 7, 2007

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List of topics and reading assignments Philosophy 192D and Liberal Arts 205 Spring semester 2007, Prof. Dowden


	Week 1: Introduction. Measuring time and space. topics: overview of the philosophical issues involving space and time; subjective vs. objective time; how clocks are accurate; the metric of space. Reading: Pages 4-21 of Callender. Pay attention to the cartoons and graphics. Then read chapter 1 (pages 1-12) of Le Poidevin. [Page numbers are the same in the 2001 and 2005 editions of the Callender book.] Week 2: Change. topics: The relationship between time and change; Aristotle's relational theory of time; Descartes' re-creationist theory of time; God and time; Leibniz's relational theory of time; Shoemaker's thought experiment. Reading: ch. 2 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 22-27 of Callender. Weeks 3 and 4: Absolute space, the vacuum, and Einstein in a nutshell. topics: Aristotle's theory of space; Newton's bucket experiment; the relationist-absolutist debate; Kant's right hand and its incongruent counterpart; Gauss' empirical test of the Pythagorean Theorem; the relative consistency of Riemannian geometry; pure vs. applied geometry; Einstein's special and general theories of relativity; Minkowski on space-time; time dilation and the twins paradox; how space makes its presence felt; Poincaré's conventionalism about geometry. Reading: ch. 3 and ch. 4 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 38-42, 52-67, 90-97 of Callender. Week 5: Beginning and end of time. topics: Aristotle vs. Thomas Aquinas on the beginning of time; Kant's antinomies; Big Bang theory; expansion of space without expansion of atoms; finite vs. infinite past; cyclic time; and answering the cosmic question "Why is there something rather than nothing?" Reading: ch. 5 of Le Poidevin. Week 6: Shape of space. topics: topology of space; intrinsic vs. extrinsic curvature; the discovery of negative energy; Perelman and Poincaré's conjecture. Reading: ch. 6 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 123-125, 131-132 of Callender. Week 7: Infinity and paradox. topics: Aristotle's distinction between actual and potential infinity; Zeno's paradoxes of motion; infinitesimals; Thomson's infinity lamp; atoms of time; atoms of space. Reading: ch. 7 of Le Poidevin; http://www.iep.utm.edu/ancillaries/time-sup.htm#H18 Weeks 8 and 9: Time's passage and the block universe. topics: myth of passage; tensed time vs. tenseless time; McTaggart's A-series and B-series; presentism; block universe; cinematic universe; Einstein's relativity of simultaneity. Reading: ch. 8 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 32-42, 44-51, 66-67, 109-113 of Callender. And http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/time.htm#H10 Week 10: Motion in the present. topics: Zeno's arrow paradox; further discussion of presentism. midterm at beginning of week; then Reading: ch. 9 of Le Poidevin. Page 43 of Callender. Week 11: Time travel. topics: travel to the future; travel to the past; changing the future; free will. Reading: ch. 10 of Le Poidevin. Pp. 68-89, 98-117, 126-132 of Callender. Week 12: QM and the multiverse. topics: the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics; a photon in two places at once; multiple big bangs; the multiverse. Reading: ch. 11 of Le Poidevin. Week 13: Time's arrow. topics: Loschmidt's entropy puzzle; multiple arrows of time; local vs. global time order; Nietzsche on Poincare's recurrence time; whether time can reverse. Reading: ch. 12 of Le Poidevin. View part of the film "It's About Time." Pp. 127-132, 133-165 of Callender. Week 14: More issues about space and time. topics: Dirac-Milne multiple times; exotic possibilities. Reading: Pp, 28-31, 118-122, 131-132, 166-169 of Callender. essay is due. Week 15: Review The above schedule of course topics may be changed somewhat as we progress through the semester, but this won't affect the schedule of the homework, essays and tests, which will not be changed. PROF. DOWDEN / PHILOSOPHY DEPT. / CSUS Updated: May 7, 2007