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Philosophy metaphysicas. Lewis’s Account of Changing the Past

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Critically evaluate Lewis’ account of how we are able to kill our grandfather in time travel, even though we know we will not. Recommended Reading Lewis, D. (1976). “The Paradoxes of

Time Travel” American Philosophical Quarterly 13:145-152



references needed 10





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Lewis’s Account of Changing the Past
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Time travel theory has been subject to debate for various reasons. However, the Grandfather Paradox has been highly debated by scholars in the field of philosophy, and it has significant effects on the probability of time. Despite the fact that the paradox has sparked an indecisive discussion, time travel can be achieved and the account and concerns that the Paradox raises are irrelevant and explainable. It is thus crucial to get a succinct comprehension of the Grandfather Paradox and time travel, as this helps in enhancing understanding of how the past cannot be changed; it can only be influenced by a time traveler. The time traveller cannot kill her grandfather, as examined with a focus of Lewis’ account of a string of numerous coincidences. The account is also subject to criticism.
In his account, Lewis argues that it is possible in a place where time travel took place to be different and awkward in basic manners compared to the world in which we live. The difference can be explained and understood through personal and external time. When a man in this world celebrates his 25th birthday, there is a match between the external time, shown on his calendar, and his personal time, marked by his watch. It was this concept that was used to create the Paradox. The primary account of the theory is that time travellers only move through their time and as opposed to creating a new external time in which they can operate. The idea that there is a probability of backwards time travel existing raises concerns on the events that would take place if the individual gets an opportunity to live in the faзade of their former selves.
Various descriptions of the Paradox have been presented, but Lewis’ appears the most reliable and succinct. In his account, he creates the imagination of a time traveller, naming him Tim, and who detested his grandpa. The grandfather died at a ripe age as he rested on his bed, and had made his family to suffer during the entire time. Tim is now all-grown and owns a clock, and then chooses to utilize it in rewinding the clock until the year 1921; during this time, his grandfather was young and it was during this time that he met and married Tim’s grandmother. Tim’s aim is to murder his grandfather even before he meets his grandmother so as to prevent the years of torment that his grandfather caused his family. Tim then purchases a riffle and takes time to study what his grandfather does on a daily basis, his routine routine, and his movements. He secures a house that is strategically positioned such that he can see his grandfather as he prepares to shoot him one of the mornings as he walks on a daily basis. At this point, Tim is fully equipped to murder his grandfather because the surroundings are just right since as they are accompanied by a breeze, zero distractions, and there is nobody else on the streets apart from his grandfather. He has also been practicing so as to perfect his shooting skills so that he kills his grandfather from the first shot taken. However, Tim could still not kill his grandfather. In his account for this, Lewis explains that the grandfather had lived, and so killing him was not going to change the past and everything he had done.
The past cannot be changed by a time traveller, and this seems refutable although Lewis accounts for his by arguing that the events that took place in the past cannot be sub-divided into temporal parts, and this is why they cannot be changed. Such events include the timeless actions of the individual, but sometimes they may not. In this case, it is worth noting that it is impossible to have original 1921 in which the grandfather lived a new one in which he did not. Lewis’ account argues for the existence of only one history and one timeline, which cannot be changed by an individual who did not live in the past. Lewis also adds that although the past cannot be changed, the future can easily be created through one’s actions. In this case, Lewis’ account is sensible because if it were possible for Tim to travel backwards in terms of time, then this implies that he did not murder his grandfather. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for Tim to be born and own a machine so that he would carry it with him to the past. This account also shows how Lewis differentiates what it means to ‘change’ the past from ‘influencing’ it by taking part in it.
Lewis account was also supported by Paul Horwich, whose argument was that it is time travel which enables one to have some influence on the past but the past cannot be changed. However, there have been concerns and counter arguments from other scholars in the field on some of the paradoxes which have been created by travelling back in time and are convinced that the irrational chaos that cause such paradoxes can be avoided by supposing that true time-travel is impossible. However, such concerns are baseless and misguided since it is not possible for an individual to go back to the past and then do something which was never done in the first place. Tim would not have attempted to go and murder the grandfather knowing that the grandfather had lived another 50 odd years since there is no way to change or even influence the past. All the actions by Tim involved doing what had been done already. As such, Lewis cites this as the main reason as to why Tim’s efforts to murder the elderly grandfather was unsuccessful since he was trying to do something which had already been lived on and had become part of history.
In his account, Lewis acknowledges the fact that Tim was well positioned and in a great capacity to kill the grandfather but failed in his attempt. Despite all factors working in favor of Tim, he was unable to accomplish the task.  In this regard, Lewis offers a compelling argument to enhance comprehension of the fact that...
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