Original essays by philosophers of language and philosophers of
time exploring the semantics and metaphysics of tense.
Among the many branches of philosophy, the philosophy of time and
the philosophy of language are more intimately interconnected than
most, yet their practitioners have long pursued independent paths.
This book helps to bridge the gap between the two groups. As it
makes clear, it is increasingly difficult to do philosophy of
language without any metaphysical commitments as to the nature of
time, and it is equally difficult to resolve the metaphysical
question of whether time is tensed or tenseless independently of
the philosophy of language. Indeed, one is tempted to see
philosophy of language and metaphysics as a continuum with no sharp
boundary.
The essays, which were written expressly for this book by leading
philosophers of language and philosophers of time, discuss the
philosophy of language and its implications for the philosophy of
time and vice versa. The intention is not only to further dialogue
between philosophers of language and of time but also to present
new theories to advance the state of knowledge in the two fields.
The essays are organized in two sections--one on the philosophy of
tensed language, the other on the metaphysics of time.
Aleksandar Jokic is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Portland State University. Quentin Smith is Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Western Michigan University.
