Abstract

We review some recent strands in the philosophy and physics of time. We explain the new orthodoxy denying time any fundamental status, and then turn to several proposals that deny this. There is a standard procedure to square the opposing views by looking at the way agents are embedded in the universe. This has also been questioned by some recent work. We focus on Lee Smolin’s recent work in this vein and on his view that novelty and freedom pose problems for anti-fundamentalist views. We ultimately defend this component.