AGAINST LAWS OF NATURE AS TRUTHMAKERS FOR PRESENTISTS

• Authors: Rychter Pablo
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This paper addresses the so-called ‘truthmaker problem’ or ‘grounding problem’ for presentism. In section 1, the author sets the stage by introducing presentism and the truthmaker problem. In section 2, he considers a proposed solution to it, which he calls the ‘laws of nature proposal’ (LNP), recently defended by Markosian (2013). The author argues that LNP fails as a solution to the truthmaker problem because it does not meet a constraint that is generally taken as constitutive of it: that the entities doing truthmaker work should be categorical. Then, in section 3, the author discusses the prospects of abandoning this ‘categoricity constraint’. The conclusion of this discussion is that the presentist should be allowed to such a move. This, however, is not completely good news for the friends of LNP, since the abandonment of the ‘categoricity constraint’ opens the door to simpler solutions, like what is often called ‘Lucretianism’.

Keywords

EN

LAWS OF NATURE; PRESENTISM; TRUTHMAKING

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute of Philosophy of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic
• Journal: Organon F. medzinárodný časopis pre analytickú filozofiu
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 428 – 442

Contributors

author

Rychter Pablo

• University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 30, 46010 Valencia, Spain