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Full Idea
A short time ago or a short time ahead we might put at ten days, but how can anything which does not exist be either long or short?
Gist of Idea
How can ten days ahead be a short time, if it doesn't exist?
Source
Augustine (Confessions [c.398], XI.15)
Book Ref
Augustine: 'Confessions', ed/tr. Pine-Coffin,R.S. [Penguin 1961], p.264
A Reaction
A nice question, which gets at the paradoxical nature of time very nicely. How can it be long, but non-existent? We could break the paradox by concluding '..and therefore time does exist', even though we can't see how.
| 1702 | Things may be necessary once they occur, but not be unconditionally necessary [Aristotle] |
| 5980 | How can ten days ahead be a short time, if it doesn't exist? [Augustine] |
| 8160 | The present and past exist, but the future does not [Broad, by Dummett] |
| 14609 | We could say present and past exist, but not future, so that each event adds to the total history [Broad] |
| 9666 | It is quite implausible that the future is unreal, as that would terminate everything [Lewis] |
| 15195 | If the future is not real, we don't seem to have any obligation to future individuals [Le Poidevin] |
| 14722 | Between presentism and eternalism is the 'growing block' view - the past is real, the future is not [Sider] |
| 17961 | Growing block has a subjective present and a growing edge - but these could come apart [Merricks, by PG] |
| 14610 | Neither 'moving spotlight' nor 'growing block' views explain why we care what is present or past [Zimmerman,DW] |
| 14015 | No-Futurists believe in past and present, but not future, and say the world grows as facts increase [Bourne] |
| 22991 | How can we know this is the present moment, if other times are real? [Baron/Miller] |
| 22992 | If we are actually in the past then we shouldn't experience time passing [Baron/Miller] |