Full Idea
Suppose an art critic travels back in time with a copy of an artist's masterpiece, gives the artist the copy, and the artist copies it. The copy of the copy turns out to be the original mastepiece. The artwork seems to come from nowhere.
Gist of Idea
A traveller takes a copy of a picture into the past, gives it the artist, who then creates the original!
Source
Baron,S/Miller,K (Intro to the Philosophy of Time [2019], 8.6)
A Reaction
Lovely thought. Is the example possible (even with time travel)? How would the critic possess the copy before making the time journey? What if the critic decided not to travel back in time? Can a picture exist if no one has imagined it first?
Book Reference
Baron,S/Miller,K: 'Introduction to the Philosophy of Time' [Polity 2019], p.225
Related Idea
Idea 23022 Presentism means there no existing past for a time traveller to visit [Baron/Miller]