The Ontology of Time (Studies in Analytic Philosophy)

L Nathan Oaklander is internationally recognised as a leading defender of the tenseless theory of time. The thirty-one essays by Oaklander in this very useful collection have helped shape recent discussions of temporal becoming, and are frequently cited in the literature on the philosophy of time. Philosophers who hold that there is temporal becoming - meaning that events are first future, then become present, and finally become past - are proponents of the "tensed" theory of time. By contrast, philosophers who claim that all successively ordered events have the same ontological status - meaning that events do not 'come into being' as such but merely exist 'without becoming' at their respective temporal locations - are proponents of the 'tenseless' theory of time. Oaklander's lucid exposition of the critical issues involved in the study of time make this book essential for students, scholars, and anyone interested in this complex area of philosophy.