Moving spotlight theory of time
The moving spotlight theory of time is a theory of time which describes past, present and future all co-existing, but only one moment in time being present at any given moment - as if picked out by a spotlight which moves from moment to moment. In this way, it is a compromise betweeen the A-theory and B-theory of time, in which the co-existence of all times is a form of eternalism, and the spotlight itself a form of presentism.[1]
Numerous variations of the theory have been put forward.[2][3] Although it has been out of fashion for some time, the idea has recently been studied by Ross P. Cameron and Brandon Skow.[3]
The moving spotlight theory can be extended to cover not only the distinction between one time and another, but also the distinction between one consciousness and another.[4] A variant of this theory is a principal component of the plot of Fred Hoyle's novel October the First Is Too Late, which combines the idea of the moving spotlight with open individualism.
References
[edit]- ^ Skow, Bradford (2009). "Relativity and the Moving Spotlight" (PDF). The Journal of Philosophy. 106 (12): 666–678. ISSN 0022-362X. JSTOR 20620219.
- ^ Deasy, Daniel (October 2022). "The Modal Moving Spotlight Theory". Mind. 131 (524): 1195–1215. doi:10.1093/mind/fzab048.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Meghan. "The Moving Spotlight: An Essay on Time and Ontology". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. Archived from the original on 2024-12-26. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
- ^ Conitzer, Vincent (2020). "Personalized A-Theory of Time and Perspective". philpapers.org. doi:10.48106/dial.v74.i1.02. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
| Key concepts | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement and standards |
| ||||||||
| Philosophy of time | |||||||||
| Human experience and use of time | |||||||||
| Time in science |
| ||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
 | This philosophy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |