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La structure du temps est-elle indécidable? Sous-détermination et structure du temps chez Newton-Smith

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

VINCENT ARDOUREL
VINCENT ARDOUREL*
Affiliation:
Université Paris IV — Sorbonne
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Abstract

In his book, The Structure of Time, William H. Newton-Smith claims that we cannot decide whether the structure of time is continuous or merely dense. I discuss here the extent to which he is correct. I argue that he fails to provide strong enough arguments to defend his claim, but I then suggest how he might overcome this issue. I also argue that we must reconsider the consequences that he draws from his “undecidability result”.

Dans La structure du temps, William H. Newton-Smith avance la thèse selon laquelle il est impossible de décider si la structure du temps est continue ou simplement dense. L’objectif de cet article est d’examiner dans quelle mesure la thèse de Newton-Smith est justifiée. D’un côté, je soutiens que l’argumentation qu’il propose est insuffisamment convaincante. D’un autre côté, je montre comment pallier cette critique et, dans ce nouveau contexte, je propose une révision des conséquences de sa thèse de l’indécidabilité.

Type
Articles
Information
Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 623 - 649
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 2015 

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