Four-Dimensionalism An Ontology of Persistence and Time

Lucid, absorbing, and original, this book defends the theory that the material world is composed of temporal as well as spatial parts. Along the way, it addresses many topics on the metaphysics of time and identity. These include the status of past and future objects, the nature of motion and change, the existence of composite objects, and examples involving two things in the same place at the same time.

Four-Dimensionalism defends the thesis that the material world is composed of temporal as well as spatial parts. This defense includes a novel account of persistence over time, new arguments in favour of the four-dimensional ontology, and responses to the challenges four-dimensionalism faces. Theodore Sider pays particular attention to the philosophy of time, including a strong series of arguments against presentism, the thesis that only the present is real. Arguments offered in favour of four-dimensionalism include novel arguments based on time travel, the debate beween spacetime substantivalists and relationalists, and vagueness. Also included is a comprehensive discussion of the paradoxes of coinciding material objects, and a novel resolution of those paradoxes based on temporal counterpart theory. In conclusion Sider replies to prominent objections to four-dimensionalism, including discussion of the problem of the rotating homogenous disk. Four Dimensionalism is an original and highly readable study of the metaphysics of time and identity.

1 - The Four-Dimensional Picture
2 - Against Presentism
3 - Three- and Four-Dimensionalism Stated
4 - In Favor of Four-Dimensionalism Part 1
5 - In Favor of Four-Dimensionalism Part 2: The Best Unified Theory of the Paradoxes of Coincidence
6 - Arguments against Four-Dimensionalism