Existential dread and the B-theory of time.

In this paper I describe a specific emotional reaction to the fact that we will cease to exist, namely existential dread, and I argue that the B-theory of time, according to which reality contains a four-dimensional spacetime manifold and the present time is metaphysically on a par with past and fut...

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Publicado en:Synthese Vol. 199; no. 5/6; pp. 14691 - 14709
Autor principal: Banfi, Luca
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Dec2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Existential dread and the B-theory of time.
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        au: Banfi, Luca
        affil: University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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        Spacetime
        Emotions
        Time
      sug:
        subj:
          Spacetime
          Emotions
          Time
      keyword:
        B-theory of time
        Ceasing to exist
        Emotion
        Existential dread
        Metaphysics
      ab: In this paper I describe a specific emotional reaction to the fact that we will cease to exist, namely existential dread, and I argue that the B-theory of time, according to which reality contains a four-dimensional spacetime manifold and the present time is metaphysically on a par with past and future times, cannot accommodate it. Some may see this as an advantage of the B-theory; some may see it as a problem for the view. My aim is not to argue either for or against the B-theory, but merely to show that it is incompatible with a certain common (and important) emotion. The paper is split into three sections. I begin by introducing existential dread. Next, I show how existential dread fits into a widely accepted theory of emotion according to which emotions are intentional states susceptible of being both intelligible and correct, where an emotion is intelligible if, roughly, it makes sense; and is correct if, roughly, it fits its object. The core of the paper is the third section: in that section, I introduce the B-theory of time and I argue that it is incompatible with existential dread.
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    language: English
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