Can Discussions in Metaphysics of Time be Applied to Mental Time?

抄録

Metaphysics of time involves plenty of dichotomies, and most of the debates are based on them. It is commonly supposed that contemporary metaphysics of time started with McTaggart's paradox which focuses on the dichotomy between A-theory and B-theory. In the later half of the twentieth century, many philosophers of time came to discuss the dichotomy of the tensed and the tenseless theories. More recent examples are found in the debate between three-dimensionalism and four-dimensionalism and that between presentism and eternalism. This paper aims to explore relationship between metaphysics of time and studies on so-called “mental time” with respect to these dichotomies discussed in metaphysics of time. The conclusion I will draw is that, with one exception, all of the dichotomies can be usefully preserved in studies on mental time. It indicates that the dichotomies accumulated through discussion in metaphysics of time can be useful for scientific studies, at least on mental time.