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Single Idea 23022

[catalogued under 27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / j. Time travel]

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)

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.

Book Reference

Baron,S/Miller,K: 'Introduction to the Philosophy of Time' [Polity 2019], p.213

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]