Back to AtD. the ideal timelessness of common sense

[Mark Kohut]

I will, to stir the pot, just add that I think McTaggart could be refuted long before modern physics....
 
Remember the philosopher who kicked a rock....to refute absolute 'idealism"?
 
"McTaggart, wait a second"........
 

From: Prashant Kumar <siva.prashant.kumar at gmail.com>
To: Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at verizon.net> 
Cc: pynchon-l at waste.org 
Sent: Monday, July 9, 2012 9:16 PM
Subject: Re: Back to AtD. the ideal timelessness of common sense


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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