Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

Improve your understanding of the philosophy of time and learn to discuss key concepts relating to time with confidence. In this course we consider many approaches to understanding the issue of time and what it means for us in our everyday existence. We use philosophy, chronobiology, psychology, neurobiology and the arts in our investigations.

During the course, we will discuss: objective and subjective experiences of time; time travel; time in human reasoning; time in physics; neural mechanisms and our experience of time; art, literature and temporal experience.

Aims

This course aims to improve your understanding of the philosophy of time. It will also equip you to discuss the perspectives of modern philosophers and schools of thought with confidence.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• discuss key concepts in the philosophy of time
• discuss ancient philosophical perspectives in contrast to modern philosophical perspectives
• identify the many approaches to understanding concepts of time, including: chronobiology, psychology, neurobiology and the arts
• relate the phenomenological aspects of the course to your own experience of memory and identity
• apply these phenomenological considerations to your personal decision making and choices.

Content

What is time?

In this introduction to the philosophy of time, we consider the following:

• presentism
• eternalism