The Rietdijk-Putnam (Penrose) Argument.

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss an argument inspired by the relativity of simultaneity (RoS). That argument purports to establish views such as four-dimensionalism, eternalism and, chiefly, determinism. I will present the most important versions of the argument and point out the differences between them — including Gödel’s version and the idealistic view of time that naturally goes with it. Gödel’s version differs from the others in that he doesn’t endorse determinism. The argument depends crucially on how one interprets Special Relativity (SR). In addition, defenders of the argument make certain semantic and epistemic claims, which lead to an alleged incompatibility between indeterminism and our best theory of time. At the end, I will describe the main reactions to the argument and I will make some general remarks on each of them.