Philosophy 381: Metaphysics in Science Fiction

(1) Read, "The Red Queen's Race" by Isaac Asimov.

(2) Consider the following two passages:

Then, he said heavily: "But nothing's happened."

"I know. But then I've been told by Tywood's student that it takes a day to move back a century in time. Assuming that ancient Greece was the target area, we have twenty centuries, hence twenty days."(p. 80)

Boulder: "I thought deeply for weeks before I proceeded, and then I realized how I must act--must act."(p. 84)

(3) Present the assumptions about time travel that underlie these passages. Discuss whether these assumptions are (a) independent of each other and (b) consistent with each other.

Extra directions: This assignment should be a minimum of 2 standardly formatted typewritten pages. There is no maximum length, but since I value precision, conciseness, and clarity, excess verbiage should be avoided.

Complete this assignment on separate paper. Sign this sheet at the bottom and staple this sheet to your answers.

Due: Thursday, September 21, at the beginning of class.

I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.