Philosopheasy Editorial Ledger
Curated and annotated by the Philosopheasy Editorial Board as part of the series on Ideas Surviving Outside the Algorithmic Consensus. [Estimated reading time: 3 mins]
To the eternalist, Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, your reading of this sentence, and the eventual burnout of our sun are all equally real, fixed forever at their respective coordinates in the spacetime block. Eternalism is the metaphysical foundation of the block universe theory, asserting that time does not flow or pass; rather, it is a static dimension along which events are permanently arranged.
The B-Theory of Time
In the philosophy of time, eternalism is closely aligned with the "B-Theory of time," a concept introduced by philosopher J.M.E. McTaggart. The B-Theory argues that temporal relations are static. Events do not change from being "future" to "present" to "past." Instead, they are merely "earlier than" or "later than" other events.
For example, the signing of the Magna Carta is eternally earlier than the landing on the moon. This relation never changes. The passage of time is viewed as a subjective illusion of human consciousness, which experiences the static block sequentially.
Key Distinctions of Eternalism
To clarify the ontological status of eternalism, we can contrast its core claims with alternative metaphysical frameworks:
| Concept | Ontological Status of Past | Ontological Status of Future |
|---|---|---|
| Eternalism | Fully Real | Fully Real |
| Presentism | Non-existent | Non-existent |
| Growing Block | Fully Real | Non-existent |
Textual Citations & Primary Sources
- J.M.E. McTaggart, "The Unreality of Time," Mind, Vol. 17 (1908). The origin of the A-Series and B-Series distinction.
- J.J.C. Smart, "Philosophy and Scientific Realism" (1963). A classic defense of eternalism and the spatialization of time.
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