Around the turn of the twentieth century, time became a major focus of American-British philosophy. Against a broadly Kantian-Hegelian backdrop, philosophers began developing new questions and theories about time. Shadworth Hodgson argued humans perceive a ‘specious present’, a short duration rather than an infinitesimally small one; this view was further developed by Mary Calkins and William James. J. M. E. McTaggart advanced a new argument for the unreality of time. A. N. Whitehead made time the foundation of his process philosophy. This event brings together philosophers from Europe and North America exploring this period that was to become defining for the contours of twentieth-century English-speaking philosophy of time. The event will deliberately be scheduled to be compatible with European and North American time zones.

Presentation

Around the turn of the twentieth century, time became a major focus of American-British philosophy. Against a broadly Kantian-Hegelian backdrop, philosophers began developing new questions and theories about time. This event brings together philosophers from Europe and North America exploring this period that was to become defining for the contours of twentieth-century English-speaking philosophy of time. 

Event format and registration

29-30 April 2021, Durham University (Held via Zoom, across North American and European Time zones)

Attendance is free, to obtain zoom link, please contact matyas.moravec@cantab.net

Time zones

The conference will be held across the following time zones:

• GMT:    Durham; Warwick; Oxford 
• EST:     Hamilton
• PST:     Vancouver; Seattle
• CST:     Saint Paul, MN; Iowa City

Programme

29 April 2021

15:45-16:00 GMT / 10:45-11:00 EST / 7:45-8:00 PST / 8:45-9:00 CST

Matyáš Moravec and Emily Thomas (Durham): Welcome & introduction

16:00-17:00 GMT / 11:00-12:00 EST / 8:00-9:00 PST / 10:00-11:00 CST

• Jeremy Dunham (Durham): James and Bergson on Time

17:00-18:00 GMT / 12:00-13:00 EST / 9:00-10:00 PST / 11:00-12:00 CST

• Geoffrey Gorham (Macalester College): TBA

18:00-19:00 GMT / 13:00-14:00 EST / 10:00-11:00 PST / 12:00-13:00 CST

• Jack Shardlow (Warwick): Time and Temporal Experience, Through Russell and Moore

20:00-21:00 GMT / 15:00-16:00 EST / 12:00-13:00 PST / 14:00-15:00 CST

• Katarina Perovic (Iowa): Whitehead on Processes and Events

21:00-22:00 GMT / 16:00-17:00 EST / 13:00-14:00 PST / 15:00-16:00 CST

• Richard Arthur (McMaster): On the Chequered Reception of A. A. Robb’s Philosophy of Time

30 April 2021

16:00-17:00 GMT / 11:00-17:00 EST / 8:00-9:00 PST / 10:00-11:00 CST

• William Mander (Oxford): The Right Kind of Nonsense — A Study of McTaggart’s C and D Series

17:00-18:00 GMT / 12:00-13:00 EST / 9:00-10:00 PST / 11:00-12:00 CST

• Emily Thomas (Durham): Defending Idealism Using the Specious Present: Three Surprising Strategies from Royce, Calkins, and McTaggart

18:00-19:00 GMT / 13:00-14:00 EST / 10:00-11:00 PST / 12:00-13:00 CST

• Holly Andersen (Simon Fraser): Hodgson’s Temporal Experience as the Foundation for a New Scientific Philosophy

20:00-21:00 GMT / 15:00-16:00 EST / 12:00-13:00 PST / 14:00-15:00 CST

• Matyáš Moravec (Durham): Bergson’s influence on May Sinclair and J. W. Dunne

21:00-22:00 GMT / 16:00-17:00 EST / 13:00-14:00 PST / 15:00-16:00 CST

• Anthony Fisher (Washington): Temporal Experience and the Present in George P. Adams’ Metaphysics of Time

22:00-22:15 GMT / 17:00-17:15 EST / 14:00-14:15 PST / 16:00-16:15 CST

• Matyáš Moravec and Emily Thomas (Durham): Concluding remarks

Organisation

This event is organised by Matyáš Moravec and Emily Thomas as part of the AHRC-funded project “Inventing Time: Past, Present, and Future of British Metaphysics 1878-1938” at Durham University. The virtual conference is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.