Abstract

Chapter 2 introduces some terminology and clarifies the debate between two theories of time: the tensed or A-theory, and the tenseless or B-theory. It examines Prior’s thank goodness argument which shows that tensed language can play different roles to tenseless language. It is argued that considerations of Prior’s argument that have been offered by Mellor and MacBeath fail to do justice to intuitions regarding the appropriateness of emotions. It concludes that tensed and tenseless utterances play different roles and that in order to get clear about the implications this has for the philosophy of time we must look more closely at the appropriateness of emotions.