Is the relativity of simultaneity a temporal illusion?

Berit Brogaard, Kristian Marlow

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tensism holds that the present moment has a special status that sets it apart from the past and the future, independently of perceivers. One of the main objections to this view has been Einstein's argument from special relativity, which aims at showing that absolute simultaneity is a myth. We argue that the moving observer in a causal variant of Einstein's original thought experiment is subject to a temporal illusion. Owing to the analogy of the cases, this casts doubt on the conjectures that there is no privileged frame of reference and that special relativity poses a problem for tensism.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)635-642
Number of pages8
JournalAnalysis
Volume73
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2013
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Special Relativity
Illusion
Simultaneity
Relativity
Albert Einstein
Observer
Frame of Reference
Thought Experiments
Causal

Keywords

  • absolute simultaneity
  • cause-effect sequence
  • presentism
  • rest frame
  • special relativity
  • temporal illusion
  • temporal passage
  • tensism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Philosophy

Cite this

Is the relativity of simultaneity a temporal illusion? / Brogaard, Berit; Marlow, Kristian.

In: Analysis, Vol. 73, No. 4, 10.2013, p. 635-642.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Brogaard, B & Marlow, K 2013, 'Is the relativity of simultaneity a temporal illusion?', Analysis, vol. 73, no. 4, pp. 635-642. https://doi.org/10.1093/analys/ant070
Brogaard B, Marlow K. Is the relativity of simultaneity a temporal illusion? Analysis. 2013 Oct;73(4):635-642. https://doi.org/10.1093/analys/ant070
Brogaard, Berit ; Marlow, Kristian. / Is the relativity of simultaneity a temporal illusion?. In: Analysis. 2013 ; Vol. 73, No. 4. pp. 635-642.
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