Overview
- Provides a new account of time's arrow in light of relativity theory
- Explains how God, being eternal, relates to our world, marked as it is by change and time
- Combines insights from theoretical physics with ancient and contemporary philosophy in a unique synthesis
Part of the book series: Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion (PFPR)
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Table of contents (14 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Relativity Theory and the Passage of Time
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Front Matter
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God, Change, and Time
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
In part one, Saudek argues that time is not the expansive universal 'wave' that is appears to be, but nor are we living in an unchanging block. Rather, time is real but local: there are infinitely many arrows of time in the universe, each with their own fixed past and open future. This model is based on the ontology of substances which can exist in different states, marked by different properties. On this basis, a derivation of temporal precedence and of the asymmetry between the fixed past and the open future is provided. Time's arrow is thus 'attached' to substances, and is therefore a local rather than global phenomenon, though by no means an illusory or merely subjective one.
In part two, this model is then applied to the perennial questions concerning the relationship between divine eternity and the temporal world: How can my future choices be free if God already knows what I will do? Can God act if He is not in time? Through the lens of relativity theory, such questions are shown to appear in a completely new light. The book combines insights from theoretical physics with ancient and contemporary philosophy into a unique synthesis, broaching a wealth of key issues including the arrow of time, the evolution of the cosmos, and a physics-based defence of eternalism in philosophical theology.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Daniel Saudek lectures in philosophy at the universities of Konstanz and Sankt Georgen, Germany, and works as a consultant for the natural sciences for the Diocese of Limburg, Germany. He has published widely in the philosophy of science, in the field of science and theology, as well as in social and environmental ethics.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Change, the Arrow of Time, and Divine Eternity in Light of Relativity Theory
Authors: Daniel Saudek
Series Title: Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38411-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-38410-4Published: 20 March 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-38413-5Published: 20 March 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-38411-1Published: 19 March 2020
Series ISSN: 2634-6176
Series E-ISSN: 2634-6184
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 216
Number of Illustrations: 7 b/w illustrations
Topics: Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Ontology