Overview

"In The Open Future: Why Future Contingents are all False, Patrick Todd launches a sustained defense of a radical interpretation of the doctrine of the open future. He argues that all claims about undetermined aspects of the future are simply false. Todd argues that this theory is metaphysically more parsimonius than its rivals, and that objections to its logical and practical coherence are much overblown. Todd shows how proponents of this view can maintain classical logic, and argues that the view has substantial advantages over Ockhamist, supervaluationist, and relativist alternatives. Todd draws inspiration from theories of ''neg-raising'' in linguistics, from debates about omniscience within the philosophy of religion, and defends a crucial comparison between his account of future contingents and certain more familiar theories of counterfactuals. Further, Todd defends his theory of the open future from the charges that it cannot make sense of our practices of betting, makes our credences regarding future contingents unintelligible, and is at odds with proper norms of assertion. In the end, in Todd's classical open future, we have a compelling new solution to the longstanding ""problem of future contingents""."

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9780192897916

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Reviews

Todd's book is a highly recommended read to all those working in metaphysics of time, tense logic, and debates about philosophy of religion. It is remarkable how the book offers a complete, original, and ingenious defense of the doctrine that future contingents are all false. * Giacomo Andreolett, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russian Federation, Ratio * Todd's work will be of great interest to anyone working in the philosophy of logic, especially counterfactuals; philosophy of time; philosophy of religion-a lengthy discussion of omniscience and divine foreknowledge unfolds-and metaphysics. * A. Jaeger, CHOICE * novel and resourceful... a view of this kind merits serious consideration both from those concerned with the metaphysics of time and those interested in the semantics and pragmatics of our discourse about it. * Mitch Green, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * Todd's views are process friendly without quite being in the mold of process thought, his work is a rewarding read with many insights for process thinkers and some improvements on what they (myself included) have argued. * Donald Wayne Viney, Process Studies *

Todd's work will be of great interest to anyone working in the philosophy of logic, especially counterfactuals; philosophy of time; philosophy of religion-a lengthy discussion of omniscience and divine foreknowledge unfolds-and metaphysics. * A. Jaeger, CHOICE *

Todd's book is a highly recommended read to all those working in metaphysics of time, tense logic, and debates about philosophy of religion. It is remarkable how the book offers a complete, original, and ingenious defense of the doctrine that future contingents are all false. * Giacomo Andreolett, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russian Federation, Ratio * Todd's work will be of great interest to anyone working in the philosophy of logic, especially counterfactuals; philosophy of time; philosophy of religion-a lengthy discussion of omniscience and divine foreknowledge unfolds-and metaphysics. * A. Jaeger, CHOICE *

Author Information

Patrick Todd received his PhD in 2011 from the University of California, Riverside. He has written about a range of philosophical issues, including free will and determinism, moral responsibility, time and omniscience, and the open future. In 2013, he took up a permanent position at the University of Edinburgh as a Chancellor's Fellow and Lecturer.

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