An Epicurean Model of Time Dilation

Dr. James Blackmon, a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, has published his new paper, An Epicurean Model of Time Dilation, in Ancient Philosophy Today 7 (1):98-119 (2025). The abstract is below, and you may read the penultimate version of the paper here.

Abstract: This essay shows how the Epicureans could have anticipated time dilation measurements precisely as our standard model predicts and precisely as we measure it today. Specifically, a mathematical equivalent of the velocity Lorentz transformation can be derived from the Epicurean atomist doctrine of isotakheia, which states that all (Epicurean) atoms have equal speed. The derivation is brief and classical, and it requires no mathematical concepts that would be foreign to the ancient Greeks. The significance of this derivation is addressed.

Congratulations to Dr. Blackmon!