A New Hilbert's Hotel Argument Against Past-Eternalism

Andrew Ter Ern Loke; Eli Haitov

doi:10.1111/phib.12371

A New Hilbert's Hotel Argument Against Past-Eternalism

Andrew Ter Ern Loke^*, Eli Haitov

^*Corresponding author for this work

Academy of Chinese, History, Religion and Philosophy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper offers a new formulation of the “Hilbert's Hotel Argument” (HHA) which is superior to existing formulations because it (1) demonstrates that HH is logically impossible in the concrete world, (2) takes into account the need to consider the assumptions of HHA, and (3) offers a reply to an important objection concerning the validity of HHA. In addition, this paper contributes to the discussion by using the new HHA to defend a relevant difference between the past and the future by demonstrating that the HHA applies to the former but not to the latter. Finally, this paper demonstrates the significance of metaphysical arguments such as the HHA for physical cosmology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-9
Number of pages	9
Journal	Analytic Philosophy
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.12371
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 14 Mar 2025

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Hilbert Hotel Argument
abstract infinities
concrete infinities
endless future
past-eternalism

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10.1111/phib.12371

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title = "A New Hilbert's Hotel Argument Against Past-Eternalism",

abstract = "This paper offers a new formulation of the “Hilbert's Hotel Argument” (HHA) which is superior to existing formulations because it (1) demonstrates that HH is logically impossible in the concrete world, (2) takes into account the need to consider the assumptions of HHA, and (3) offers a reply to an important objection concerning the validity of HHA. In addition, this paper contributes to the discussion by using the new HHA to defend a relevant difference between the past and the future by demonstrating that the HHA applies to the former but not to the latter. Finally, this paper demonstrates the significance of metaphysical arguments such as the HHA for physical cosmology.",

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AB - This paper offers a new formulation of the “Hilbert's Hotel Argument” (HHA) which is superior to existing formulations because it (1) demonstrates that HH is logically impossible in the concrete world, (2) takes into account the need to consider the assumptions of HHA, and (3) offers a reply to an important objection concerning the validity of HHA. In addition, this paper contributes to the discussion by using the new HHA to defend a relevant difference between the past and the future by demonstrating that the HHA applies to the former but not to the latter. Finally, this paper demonstrates the significance of metaphysical arguments such as the HHA for physical cosmology.

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A New Hilbert's Hotel Argument Against Past-Eternalism

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