Sunday, May 13, 2012

"Thank goodness it's over!"

Some people think that the sentiment expressed by "Thank goodness it's over!" makes no sense apart from an A-theory of time on which there is an absolute present. But the parallel sentiment expressed by "Thank goodness this isn't happening to me!" surely had better make sense apart from some theory on which there is some "absolute I".

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3 comments:

  1. Dagmara LizlovsMay 13, 2012 at 5:52 PM

    Now this post hasn't inspired by the end of finals and the end of the accademic year, and some people finally graduating? :-)

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  2. Alexander R PrussMay 13, 2012 at 6:18 PM

    No, it's inspired by a rejection of a paper on time where the referee complains I don't discuss "Thank goodness it's over!"

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  3. Michael GonzalezNovember 14, 2012 at 2:22 PM

    "Thank goodness this isn't happening to me" does seem to me to require an absolute "I". I'm not sure how it could be meaningful otherwise.

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