Marco Portillo: Time in Biology: A Defense of the A-Theory

RESCHEDULED: Tuesday May 6 2025 @10:00 (CET)
Sala B, Edificio de Humanidades, UNED & online

Abstract
The central question in the metaphysics of time is whether time really flows or passes (Mellor 1981; Markosian 1993, 2022). A positive answer leads to what is called a dynamic (or tensed) view, whereas a negative answer leads to a static (or tenseless) view. Historically, the labels “A-theory” and “B-theory” have also been used (cf. Gale 1960; originating in McTaggart 1908).
In this talk, I offer a new argument in support of the dynamic view. The debate has traditionally focused on physics, but if we adopt a pluralist and anti-reductionist stance, it becomes reasonable to ask whether other natural sciences should also be taken into account. I explore whether the A-theory can find support in a scientific domain beyond physics, and I argue that biology does provide such support. In particular, I show that several forms of biological explanation rely on assumptions that presuppose key tenets of the A-theory—namely, temporal passage, presentness, irreversibility, and the openness of the future. I contend that these features reflect a dynamic conception of time, and that insofar as biology tracks real features of the world, it offers empirical support for the A-theory.

Bio
Marco Portillo es doctorando en Filosofía de la Ciencia por la UNED y la Universidad de Milán, bajo la dirección de los profesores Jesús Zamora Bonilla y Giuliano Torrengo. Es FPI de la Comunidad de Madrid en el Departamento de Lógica, Historia y Filosofía de la Ciencia de la UNED, miembro del grupo de investigación METIS (Madrid) y del Centre for Philosophy of Time (Milán). Se está formando en las áreas de filosofía del tiempo, ontología, metafísica, filosofía de la ciencia y filosofía de la historia. Su investigación doctoral trata de comprender la naturaleza del futuro y los problemas que se derivan de nuestras concepciones del mismo.