Full Idea
Presentists have a difficulty with how they can help themselves to the notion of 'earlier than' without having to invoke real relata, and how presentism can distinguish the past from the future.
Gist of Idea
How can presentists talk of 'earlier than', and distinguish past from future?
Source
Craig Bourne (A Future for Presentism [2006], 2.IV)
Book Reference
Bourne,Craig: 'A Future for Presentism' [OUP 2006], p.51
A Reaction
The obvious response is to infer the past from the present (fossils), and infer the future from the present (ticking bomb). But what is it that is being inferred, if the past and future are denied a priori? Tricky!