Specious present

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The specious present is the time duration wherein one's perceptions are considered to be in the present. This term was coined by Robert Kelly (writing with the pseudonym "E. R. Clay") and the concept was further developed by Harvard professor of philosophy William James (see Andersen and Grush for the history of the term and development of the concept). James defined the specious present to be "the prototype of all conceived times... the short duration of which we are immediately and incessantly sensible".

C. D. Broad in "Scientific Thought" (1930) further elaborated on the concept of the specious present, and considered that the Specious Present may be considered as the temporal equivalent of a sensory datum.

[edit] References

• Andersen, Holly, and Rick Grush, "A brief history of time-consciousness: historical precursors to James and Husserl", To appear in the Journal of the History of Philosophy.
• Le Poidevin, Robin, "The Experience and Perception of Time", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2004 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)