Craig Callender Books

What is time? The 5th-century philosopher St Augustine famously said that he knew what time was, so long as no one asked him. Is time a fourth dimension similar to space or does it flow in some sense? And if it flows, does it make sense to say how fast? Does the future exist? Is time travel possible? This work deals with such questions.

As we navigate through life we instinctively model time as having a flowing present that divides a fixed past from open future. This model develops in childhood and is deeply saturated within our language, thought and behavior, affecting our conceptions of the universe, freedom and the self. Yet as central as it is to our lives, physics seems to have no room for this flowing present. What Makes Time Special? demonstrates this claim in detail and then turns to two novel positive tasks. First, by looking at the world "sideways" - in the spatial directions ― it shows that physics is not "spatializing time" as is commonly alleged. Even relativity theory makes significant distinctions between the spacelike and timelike directions, often with surprising consequences. Second, if the flowing present is an illusion, it is a deep one worthy of explanation. The author develops a picture whereby the temporal flow arises as an interaction effect between an observer and the physics of theworld.Using insights from philosophy, cognitive science, biology, psychology and physics, the theory claims that the flowing present model of time is the natural reaction to the perceptual and evolutionary challenges thrown at us. Modeling time as flowing makes sense even if it misrepresents it.

Die Zeit ist ein großer Lehrmeister! Das Dumme ist nur, dass sie auf Dauer alle ihre Schüler tötet. (nach Hector Berlioz) „Solange mich niemand fragt, weiß ich, was Zeit ist“, hat der Heilige Augustus gesagt. Damit ist er fast modern, denn die Quantenphysiker behaupten sogar, „Zeit, das gibt es gar nicht!“ Je genauer man es wissen will, desto komplizierter wird das mit der Zeit: Ist die Zeit wirklich eine vierte Dimension, ähnlich wie ein Raum oder „fließt“ sie sozusagen nur dahin? Und wenn sie fließt, kann man dann sagen, wie schnell? Gibt es die Zukunft? Sind Zeitreisen möglich? Und warum scheint die Zeit sich nur in eine Richtung zu bewegen. Schwierige Probleme: aber hier, wie immer in dieser Reihe, seriös, leicht und locker erklärt.