Now, to begin with, I think I know pretty well, in part at least, what
Mr. Bradley means when he says that it is unreal. I think that part
at least of what he means is just what he _ought_ to mean--just what
anyone else would mean if he said that Time was unreal, and what any
ordinary person would understand to be meant, if he heard those words.
But I can conceive that, when I have explained as well as I can what
this is that he _ought_ to mean, some people may be inclined to dispute
whether he means any such thing at all. They may say that he is using
the word "real" exclusively in some highly unusual and special sense,
so that in asserting that "Time is unreal" he is by no means denying
any part of what ordinary people would mean by saying that "Time is
real." And that some special sense may _come in_ to his meaning I
am prepared to admit. I do think it is possible that _part_ of what
Mr. Bradley is asserting may be something which no unsophisticated
person would think of expressing in the same way, and I will admit,
therefore, that he does not, very likely, mean by "Time is unreal"
_merely_ what other people would mean by this phrase, but something
else _as well._ What, however, I cannot help thinking is that, even
if he means something more, he _does_ mean what ordinary people would
mean _as well_: that what they would mean is at least a _part_ of his
meaning. And if even this is disputed, if it is maintained that he is
using the words _exclusively_ in some special sense, I own I do not
know how to argue the question. If anybody really does take the view
that, when he says "Time is unreal," absolutely all that he means is
something which is in no way incompatible with what most people would
mean by saying "Time is real," I do not know how to show that this view
is wrong. I can only say that if this _had_ been all that he meant,
I cannot believe that he would have expressed his view in the form
"Time is unreal." The only further argument I shall bring in favour
of my view that he does mean what he ought to mean will take the form
of an answer to one possible argument which might be brought against
it. When I nave explained what he _ought_ to mean by saying that "Time
is unreal," it will be quite clear that this is something which is in
fact incompatible with the truth of the propositions that Time _is,_
or _exists,_ or _is a fact._ And it might be urged that the fact that
it is thus incompatible is a strong argument against the view that
Mr. Bradley does mean what he _ought_ to mean, since, if he had meant
it, he could hardly have failed to perceive that what he meant _was_
inconsistent with these propositions, whereas, as we have seen, he
certainly does not perceive this. I have an answer to that argument,
which consists in giving an explanation, which I think a plausible
one, as to how he could come to think that the propositions are _not_
inconsistent, when in fact they are.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account