Does McTaggart show instead of time that there is a C-series? Introduction As postulated in his p... more Does McTaggart show instead of time that there is a C-series? Introduction As postulated in his paper of 1908, J.M.E. Mc Taggart argued against the unreality of time as it required either a combination of contradictory properties or changes which would in turn generate their own set of contradictions. The existing accounts of time were McTaggart charged contradictory (A-series) and insufficient (B-series) .Resulting from this reductio ad absurdum argument , McTaggart would further postulate that the only viable account of time was the C-series. I will discuss the A-series and B-series briefly to show why McTaggart dismissed their accounts of time, and then discuss in fuller detail what the alternative C-series was. I will show that there were supporters of this C-series , most notably Michael Dummett, whose defence of McTaggart's proposal was far from universal and in fact quite conditional as he was first and foremost an A-theorist. I will refer to three of McTaggart's works with the focus on the C-series primarily from The Nature of Existence, Vol II (1927). Although there is limited C-series specific support ,as objections/support of McTaggart's theory came primarily from either A-theorists or B-theorists, I will explain that McTaggart does not succeed in showing that there is a C-series instead of time. McTaggart and current theories of time: the A-series and the B-series. McTaggart posited that time was currently accounted for by what he termed as the A-series and Bseries, whereby these series were essentially 2 different descriptions of the temporal ordering relation between events and which differed in their use of tense when describing such temporal events. He further postulates that one never actually observes time other than when one is considering these two theories of time. Dainton writes very early on in his book Time and Space (10: 2012) : 'Although the A-series and the B-series involve
Does McTaggart show instead of time that there is a C-series? Introduction As postulated in his p... more Does McTaggart show instead of time that there is a C-series? Introduction As postulated in his paper of 1908, J.M.E. Mc Taggart argued against the unreality of time as it required either a combination of contradictory properties or changes which would in turn generate their own set of contradictions. The existing accounts of time were McTaggart charged contradictory (A-series) and insufficient (B-series) .Resulting from this reductio ad absurdum argument , McTaggart would further postulate that the only viable account of time was the C-series. I will discuss the A-series and B-series briefly to show why McTaggart dismissed their accounts of time, and then discuss in fuller detail what the alternative C-series was. I will show that there were supporters of this C-series , most notably Michael Dummett, whose defence of McTaggart's proposal was far from universal and in fact quite conditional as he was first and foremost an A-theorist. I will refer to three of McTaggart's works with the focus on the C-series primarily from The Nature of Existence, Vol II (1927). Although there is limited C-series specific support ,as objections/support of McTaggart's theory came primarily from either A-theorists or B-theorists, I will explain that McTaggart does not succeed in showing that there is a C-series instead of time. McTaggart and current theories of time: the A-series and the B-series. McTaggart posited that time was currently accounted for by what he termed as the A-series and Bseries, whereby these series were essentially 2 different descriptions of the temporal ordering relation between events and which differed in their use of tense when describing such temporal events. He further postulates that one never actually observes time other than when one is considering these two theories of time. Dainton writes very early on in his book Time and Space (10: 2012) : 'Although the A-series and the B-series involve
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