Pat and Chris P., (01)
I'm happy that Pat and I are on the same side of this argument. (02)
CP>> it is usual to say that the 4d view denies the existence of change. (03)
PH> Maybe, but its still extremely misleading. I've been a 4-d guy since
> at least 1973, and I've never thought of it as denying change. (04)
The arguments from Parmenides to McTaggart, etc., are about the way
people use words and about the different way of talking with a 4D view.
I agree that for certain kinds of problems the 4D formulation has
many advantages. (05)
But in my elementary calculus summary, I pointed out that the 4D
math does not make the derivative with respect to the time coordinate
become zero, and it does not make a time slice at t=0 become identical
to a time slice at t=1. (06)
What is invariant under those transformations is very real in the
lives of people and other living organisms. The 3d definitions of
'change' and 'movement' may need to be revised in a 4d ontology.
But it is misleading or worse to suggest that all the stages from
birth to death are identical. We need a word to characterize the
differences, and 'change' is not a bad choice. (07)
John (08)
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
Subscribe/Config: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/
Community Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/
To Post: mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (09)
|