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Full Idea
A time traveller can only travel to a location if the location exists, But if Presentism is true then past locations do not exist, so time travel to the past is impossible.
Gist of Idea
Presentism means there no existing past for a time traveller to visit
Source
Baron,S/Miller,K (Intro to the Philosophy of Time [2019], 8.3.1)
Book Ref
Baron,S/Miller,K: 'Introduction to the Philosophy of Time' [Polity 2019], p.213
A Reaction
Might a time machine actually restore the past time which had ceased to exist? Then the problem is the information needed to achieve that.
Related Idea
Idea 23024 A traveller takes a copy of a picture into the past, gives it the artist, who then creates the original! [Baron/Miller]
| 23019 | The interesting time travel is when personal and external time come apart [Lewis, by Baron/Miller] |
| 23021 | Lewis said it might just be that travellers to the past can't kill their grandfathers [Lewis, by Baron/Miller] |
| 22911 | At least eternal time gives time travellers a possible destination [Bardon] |
| 22912 | Time travel is not a paradox if we include it in the eternal continuum of events [Bardon] |
| 23020 | If a time traveller kills his youthful grandfather, he both exists and fails to exist [Baron/Miller] |
| 23022 | Presentism means there no existing past for a time traveller to visit [Baron/Miller] |