Time, Change and Freedom: An Introduction to Metaphysics [Hardcover]

L. Nathan Oaklander (Author), Quentin Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415102480 | ISBN-13: 978-0415102483 | Publication Date: August 16, 1995 | Edition: 1

Written for the most part in an engaging dialogue style, Time, Change and Freedom covers metaphysical topics from a student's perspective and introduces key concepts through a process of explanation, reformulation and critique.
Focusing on the philosophy of time, the dialogues cover such topics as the beginning and end of time, the nature of personal identity, and the relation of human freedom to theories of fatalism, divine foreknowledge and determinism. Each dialogue closes with a glossary of terms and suggestions for further reading.
Time, Change and Freedom concludes with a discussion of the metaphysical implications of Einstein's theory of relativity and a review of contemporary theories of time and the universe.
Written in an accessible, non-technical style, Time, Change and Freedom is an ideal introduction to the key themes of contemporary metaphysics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book has well thought out aims: chapters are short (mostly 10-15 pages) and focused; they contain useful study questions; they have up-to-date, comprehensive bibliographies; they are written as dialogues, which give students models of (analytic) philosophy in action; the dialogues also avoid closing issues, encouraging students to continue them. Nick Huggett, University of Illinois at Chicago.

About the Author

L. Nathan Oaklander is Professor of Philosophy and Chair at the University of Michigan, Flint. Quentin Smith is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Western Michigan University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 16, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415102480
• ISBN-13: 978-0415102483
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,346,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable intro to fate, time, change, agency, January 14, 2002

By 

Michael Hoffman (Egodeath.com) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time, Change and Freedom: An Introduction to Metaphysics (Paperback)

Chapters cover the beginning of time; relational & substantival theories of time; tenseless time; identity of the agent seemingly travelling through time; fatalism; God, foreknowledge, time & freedom; determinism & responsibility; and spacetime models. Very readable and insightful. The authors are leading-edge philosophers. Recommended for all readers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packs a whallop, April 28, 2002

By 

Maxwell Goss - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time, Change and Freedom: An Introduction to Metaphysics (Paperback)

This book has two main virtues, in my opinion. First, it organizes its treatment of a wide variety of issues around a single theme, the philosophy of time. This subject is of perennial interest to philosophers, of course, and the authors highlight the many ways it intersects with the other great metaphysical questions, such as personal identity, free will, and God. Second, it packs a lot of information into a very small space. It contains dense, but lucid, discussions of the A-series and B-series, relational and substantival theories of time, countable and uncountable infinities, endurantism and perdurantism, and the Special and General Theories of Relativity.

I think this book will be somewhat difficult for the introductory reader, but I suppose that comes with the territory. Metaphysics is just hard! The dialogue format does little to alleviate this; in fact, the dialogues are often stilted and sometimes distracting. However, the advantage of this format is that it allows the authors to discuss the various sides of each issue without telling the reader which side to accept. There is a lot of metaphysics in this book, explained clearly and directly. Read it through or keep it on hand as a reference. Either way, I think a careful study of it (especially Part I) will pay off.