Does Presentism Still Exist

In this paper I shall argue that time is a part of a mind-independent reality. I intend to argue in a similar vein to presentism with a few alterations that eliminate the failure of presentism in explaining things that existed in the past (REFERENCE). In essence, I will argue that, similarly to presentism, only the present exists, and it necessarily exists in the A-series, however I will also argue that the past and future exist in a mind-dependent reality where they exist in the B-series of time (REFERENCE). Firstly, I will define the key terms of my argument as well as the general concept. Secondly, I shall explain why presentism has maintained its strong hold on the theory of time and how it removes some of the problems of a mind-independent …show more content…
The A-series holds that there is a past, present, and future through which time ‘flows’ (REFERENCE). The key feature of presentism, is that those who hold this position, believe that only the present is what exists; the past used to exist, and conversely, the future will exist, but both the past and future have either ceased to exist or do not yet exist (REFERENCE). The B-series of time holds that there is only ‘earlier than’ and ‘later than’. The B-series of time is a relational time series where events are held as either later or earlier than one another. Here, in the B-series, time is not seen to ‘flow’ through these events as it does through the A-series (REFERENCE). The last term that is important to define is that of change. I will delve into this more in depth later in the paper, but for now, the principle of change is necessary for time to exist (REFERENCE). Now that I have defined some terms, I can more clearly outline the premises of my argument. Like the presentist, I will argue that the only events or objects that exist in time are those that are in the present (REFERENCE). The past and future do not exist as a part of a mind-independent reality. Instead, I postulate that they