TRENUTNA STANJA I STANJA NA INTERVALIMA
INSTANT STATES AND INTERVAL STATES

Summary/Abstract: Interval-based time ontology was originally introduced as an attempt to provide consistent analysis of changes such as starting and stopping. In order to preserve our usual language practice, the notion of instant state is not completely abandoned in interval-based ontology, but specified in terms of interval states: instant states are defined as limit values of appropriate interval states, when their duration approaches zero. In addition, state change of certain intensity is introduced as a new interval state. In this paper it is argued that such interval-based ontology is not consistent with the possibility of discontinuous change between two abutting interval states - which is precisely the type of change interval-based ontology was set to explain. One way to retain interval-based ontology is to ascribe instant states to instants under certain mode of representation and not to instants without further qualification. However, the same manoeuvre will free the instant-based time ontology of its conventional character, usually thought to be its main disadvantage.

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