“To use Shoemaker’s analogy, I cannot directly verify ‘atsome time t, the universe contains no minds at t’, since anyattempt to do so would be self-undermining, but I can surelyhave indirect evidence, from cosmology, that justifies me inaccepting this statement.”“Shoemaker then proceeds to provide an example of a worldin which there is a period of time without change and inwhich people in that world would have good reason tobelieve that there has elapsed a certain period of time withoutchange.”