Back to AtD. the ideal timelessness of common sense
Prashant Kumar
siva.prashant.kumar at gmail.com
Mon Jul 9 20:16:01 CDT 2012
In JME McTaggart's essay on time (-lessness; "The Unreality of Time") he
defines an A series (past, present, future) which is quite interesting
insofar as it reminds one of the presocratics (Heraclitus et al.), but he
then goes on to argue that such a view is contradictory and time is
therefore an ideal (in the sense of the idealists). Of course, like so much
pre-twentieth century metaphysics, this is irreconcilable with modern
physics (without thinking about it too much, I'm fairly sure all you need
to kill the A series is relativity of simultaneity, which is only special
relativity), but interesting nonetheless.
Prashant
On 10 July 2012 02:21, Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at verizon.net> wrote:
> On 7/9/2012 9:48 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:
>
>> Nice little metaphysical joke on p. 933 at the Anarchist spa.
>> "How do you plan things?" Yashmeen was curious to know, "assign duties?
>> Coordinate your efforts, that sort of thing?"
>> "By knowing what has to be done. Which is usually obvious common sense."
>> "Sounds like John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart all over again," she muttered.
>> Check out McTAggart if interested in wikipedia. But for one glossing
>> purpose
>> I offer two details about him. A British "idealist" who is famous for
>> complexly
>> arguing that Time does not exist (although eternity does).
>> I'll laugh at this AtD joke using the common sensical understanding of
>> "idealism"--
>> anarchism as an ideal.....and that "common sense"-- knowing what to do in
>> a self-organizing
>> community---is in some human sense timeless.....is with our
>> origins........
>> is part of the meaning of Yashmeen's witticism and part of TRP's
>> vision, I suggest
>> P.S. a theoretical anarchist was once asked who would pick up the
>> garbage in his ideal world.
>> "Anyone and they would be called garbagemen", he answered.
>>
>> We know what has to be done, but what has to be done is in the future,
> never the now.
>
> Yashmeen has a sharp ear for contradiction.
>
> Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday - but never jam today.
>
> P
>
>
>
>
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