Proof Eternalism is Correct

Discuss any topics related to metaphysics (the philosophical study of the principles of reality) or epistemology (the philosophical study of knowledge) in this forum.
Fooloso4
Posts: 3601
Joined: February 28th, 2014, 4:50 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Fooloso4 »

devans99:
Presentism posits that only now exists; And therefore only now has always existed.
Here you persist in repeating the claims you falsely attribute to presentism. Repeating false claims does not make them true and only proves your willingness to deceive or be deceived.

This repeats the pattern of your last topic.
devans99
Posts: 341
Joined: June 17th, 2018, 8:24 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by devans99 »

Fooloso4 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 6:53 pm devans99:
Presentism posits that only now exists; And therefore only now has always existed.
Here you persist in repeating the claims you falsely attribute to presentism. Repeating false claims does not make them true and only proves your willingness to deceive or be deceived.

This repeats the pattern of your last topic.
My claim is true; its all explained here:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presentism/
devans99
Posts: 341
Joined: June 17th, 2018, 8:24 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by devans99 »

Fooloso4 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 6:49 pm Devans99:
Right so according to Presentism, time has a NO start, so the rest of my proof follows…
It does not follow from the denial that there is a start of now that it is not the case that always only now exists.
So you are saying now only existed but in the past more than now existed?

Fooloso4 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 6:49 pm
Presentism is the believe that only now exists; hence if Presentism is false, more than now exists; past and present exist, so Eternalism is true.
But you have not shown that presentism is false. Presentism and eternalism are not the only options. In addition, you don't say anything about the future and eternalism. One can hold that the past existed but no longer does, the present exists but did not exist in the past and will not exist in the future, and that the future does not exist.

Once again, all of these concepts of time, including eternalism, present problems. To pretend or worse to delude yourself that you have proven that eternalism is correct is self-deception.
"One can hold that the past existed but no longer does" - Presentism
"the present exists but did not exist in the past and will not exist in the future" - Presentism
"and that the future does not exist" - Presentism

Eternalism is the believe that past, present and future all exist.
Fooloso4
Posts: 3601
Joined: February 28th, 2014, 4:50 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Fooloso4 »

devans99:
My claim is true; its all explained here:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presentism/
Where does the article say that only now has ever existed? That is either your misunderstanding or misrepresentation of what the article says. What it says is that only now exists. It rejects the use of the past tense 'existed'.
So you are saying now only existed but in the past more than now existed?
We went over this already. Presentism says only now exists. The past does not exist. More than what now exists does not exist.
"One can hold that the past existed but no longer does" - Presentism
No. Presentism denies the existence of the past.

Pointing to problems of presentism does not prove that eternalism is correct for it too has problems.

Unless you have something new and substantive to say I see no point in going round and round. This is the second topic dealing with this. I am not going to play a part in its endless repetition.
devans99
Posts: 341
Joined: June 17th, 2018, 8:24 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by devans99 »

Fooloso4 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 6:49 pm Devans99:
SORRY I MEANT:

Right so according to Presentism, time has a NO start, so the rest of my proof follows…
It does not follow from the denial that there is a start of now, that it is not the case that always only now exists.
IE you imply 'always only now exists' which is the only possible sensible position for a Presentist to hold. And 'always only now exists' implies time had no start, hence the rest of my proof follows...

Fooloso4 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 6:49 pm Devans99:
Presentism and eternalism are not the only options.
What other options are there?
Fooloso4
Posts: 3601
Joined: February 28th, 2014, 4:50 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Fooloso4 »

Round and round. I'm done.
User avatar
Burning ghost
Posts: 3065
Joined: February 27th, 2016, 3:10 am

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Burning ghost »

Physical time is quite “bendy.” The term “exist” is the most problematic when trying to talk about this.

Physically speaking (as in humanly speaking) the past has gone so it no longer exists. Memories may exist of the past and thoughts exist of the future. The contention for me is understanding the “present,” and what the hell it means.

From a moral position if the past “exists” - is physically there, but for whatever natural machinatoin we cannot knowlingly access it - then does it follow that “fatalism” is a necessary view to attach to it?

I find time to be the most tricky subject there is in terms of how we apply any real understanding to such a concept given that we essentially/necessarily define ourselves by our spaciotemporal existence.
AKA badgerjelly
devans99
Posts: 341
Joined: June 17th, 2018, 8:24 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by devans99 »

Burning ghost wrote: October 22nd, 2018, 12:41 pm From a moral position if the past “exists” - is physically there, but for whatever natural machinatoin we cannot knowlingly access it - then does it follow that “fatalism” is a necessary view to attach to it?
My proof agrees with Einstein's Relativity and Einstein always though that past, present future are all real and free will is an illusion.
User avatar
Burning ghost
Posts: 3065
Joined: February 27th, 2016, 3:10 am

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Burning ghost »

devans99 wrote: October 22nd, 2018, 3:51 pm
Burning ghost wrote: October 22nd, 2018, 12:41 pm From a moral position if the past “exists” - is physically there, but for whatever natural machinatoin we cannot knowlingly access it - then does it follow that “fatalism” is a necessary view to attach to it?
My proof agrees with Einstein's Relativity and Einstein always though that past, present future are all real and free will is an illusion.
Yeah, but do you think you’ve actually answered the question you quoted? I don’t see how you did and if not what am I meant to make of this response?
AKA badgerjelly
User avatar
ThomasHobbes
Posts: 1122
Joined: May 5th, 2018, 5:53 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by ThomasHobbes »

devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 4:47 pm
ThomasHobbes wrote: October 21st, 2018, 4:28 pm

I think you have a lot more work to do.
Points 2 and 3 ASSUME eternalism, which you fallaciously use to deny presentism.
Eternalism also implies endlessness. Since you can not (in fact never) prove that reality shall never end, you cannot assert the truth of eternalism.
Point 2 follows from point 1 only; Presentism posits that only now exists; And therefore only now has always existed. I am not assuming anything.

Point 3 follows from point 2; if now has always existed, there can be no start to time

Eternalism does always not imply endlessness; the word has two meanings: eternal in time implies endlessness/infinity and is impossible. The way I mean it is eternal outside time which is a finite state.
Why could the PRESENT not begin and end?
User avatar
ThomasHobbes
Posts: 1122
Joined: May 5th, 2018, 5:53 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by ThomasHobbes »

What makes you think the eternal can begin and end?
devans99
Posts: 341
Joined: June 17th, 2018, 8:24 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by devans99 »

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have noticed an error in my proof... so I've given a revised version below. Sorry about that.


Proof Eternalism is Correct

First we prove that time has a start:

- The universe follows rules that our described by mathematics. Negative infinity does not exist mathematically. Proof: there is no number X such that X< all other numbers because X-1<X. Hence eternity (in time) is impossible

- If time did not have a start then an actual infinity of time has passed so far which is impossible

- Imagine an eternal being; impossible to exist; he would have no start in time so would not exist. Being is possible we therefor conclude Eternal is not

- If the universe has been around for ever then it should be in thermodynamic equilibrium by now. But the universe is not in thermodynamic equilibrium

Next, disprove the most common form of Presentism:

1. Presentism posits that only now exists
2. Therefore only now always existed
3. Therefore time did not have a start
4. But if you take away the start (Monday) does the rest of the week still exist?
5. No, so time has a start
6. Hence Presentism is false
7. Hence Eternalism must be true

The above prove does not cover Presentism combined with a start of time, so we prove Eternalism twice via two separate argument:

1. Something can’t come from nothing
2. So something must have always existed
3. But time has a start
4. So something must exist outside of time
5. We exist in that something so we exist outside of time


1. Time has a start
2. Something timeless must have existed before time
3. We are part of that timeless something

Existing outside of time is equivalent to Eternalism
User avatar
Papus79
Posts: 1798
Joined: February 19th, 2017, 6:59 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Papus79 »

GI/GO
devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 7:30 am 1. Presentism posits that only now exists
Starts with a claim by people laying fuzzy assertions on fuzzy definitions.
devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 7:30 am2. Therefore only now always existed
Partial refutation of said fuzzy assertions with their own internal logic.
devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 7:30 am3. Therefore time did not have a start
Incendiary refutation of said fuzzy assertions with their own internal logic.
devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 7:30 am4. But if you take away the start (Monday) does the rest of the week (Tuesday...) still exist?
5. No, so time has a start
Reminds me of some form of either things have always existed or always will. It's probably 'always will' but we don't know the 'what', and as far as I can tell Heraclitus was right that change is the one thing we can bank on and that's probably change for the better, change for worse, change for change.
devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 7:30 am6. Hence Presentism is false
If you think of every time ever having existed being a previous now, and every moment yet to be a future now it means we're back to square one - blinking at the panorama of information from all previous ages and guesses toward the future like most people who haven't naval-gazed long enough to spool themselves around a fragmentary idea.
devans99 wrote: October 21st, 2018, 7:30 am7. Hence Eternalism must be true
I'm still not sure whether existence of particles and their relative position is necessary to say that there' one moment and then there's another. It could be that no one's there to experience it (would have to be the case with no particles) but I think its fair to say that stuff has always existed and always will and if there's a reason for that not to be the case its some bit of forensics out in the multiverse that's beyond anyone's reach or pay grade on this planet these days.

Also, the people I've come in contact with who'd say that time doesn't exist don't quite phrase it like 1), there more likely to say that if one is outside the direct flow of it that it's closer to a geometric object that's all connected and even explorable from deeper places of mind. It's easiest to maybe imagine that from a deterministic/Newtonian sort of unfolding but such simplicity is probably not the case. It reminds me that I need to look into Brian Greene's assertion of indeterminism and figure out which experiments make them certain that you couldn't eternally play back five minutes like security camera footage.
Humbly watching Youtube in Universe 25. - Me
User avatar
Papus79
Posts: 1798
Joined: February 19th, 2017, 6:59 pm

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Papus79 »

Burning ghost wrote: October 22nd, 2018, 12:41 pm Physically speaking (as in humanly speaking) the past has gone so it no longer exists. Memories may exist of the past and thoughts exist of the future. The contention for me is understanding the “present,” and what the hell it means.
It's smudged by our senses always relating what happened a fraction of a second in the past and to think about it the sense of congruity we have is really an amazing illusion. I'm forced to consider the 'present' to just be a complex vector of activity that we find ourselves riding the edge of at all times, it's never just one moment but more like a traveling wave or blur.
Humbly watching Youtube in Universe 25. - Me
User avatar
Burning ghost
Posts: 3065
Joined: February 27th, 2016, 3:10 am

Re: Proof Eternalism is Correct

Post by Burning ghost »

Papus79 wrote: November 28th, 2018, 12:53 am
Burning ghost wrote: October 22nd, 2018, 12:41 pm Physically speaking (as in humanly speaking) the past has gone so it no longer exists. Memories may exist of the past and thoughts exist of the future. The contention for me is understanding the “present,” and what the hell it means.
It's smudged by our senses always relating what happened a fraction of a second in the past and to think about it the sense of congruity we have is really an amazing illusion. I'm forced to consider the 'present' to just be a complex vector of activity that we find ourselves riding the edge of at all times, it's never just one moment but more like a traveling wave or blur.
Well, yeah ... but ... what can we SAY about this in better detail? This is precisely why I like Husserl’s general approach to the problem of subjectivity. His approach to time is quite complex/vague.
AKA badgerjelly
Post Reply

Return to “Epistemology and Metaphysics”

2023/2024 Philosophy Books of the Month

Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise

Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise
by John K Danenbarger
January 2023

Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul

Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023

The Unfakeable Code®

The Unfakeable Code®
by Tony Jeton Selimi
April 2023

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
by Alan Watts
May 2023

Killing Abel

Killing Abel
by Michael Tieman
June 2023

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead
by E. Alan Fleischauer
July 2023

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough
by Mark Unger
August 2023

Predictably Irrational

Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
September 2023

Artwords

Artwords
by Beatriz M. Robles
November 2023

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope
by Dr. Randy Ross
December 2023

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes
by Ali Master
February 2024

2022 Philosophy Books of the Month

Emotional Intelligence At Work

Emotional Intelligence At Work
by Richard M Contino & Penelope J Holt
January 2022

Free Will, Do You Have It?

Free Will, Do You Have It?
by Albertus Kral
February 2022

My Enemy in Vietnam

My Enemy in Vietnam
by Billy Springer
March 2022

2X2 on the Ark

2X2 on the Ark
by Mary J Giuffra, PhD
April 2022

The Maestro Monologue

The Maestro Monologue
by Rob White
May 2022

What Makes America Great

What Makes America Great
by Bob Dowell
June 2022

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!
by Jerry Durr
July 2022

Living in Color

Living in Color
by Mike Murphy
August 2022 (tentative)

The Not So Great American Novel

The Not So Great American Novel
by James E Doucette
September 2022

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches
by John N. (Jake) Ferris
October 2022

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All
by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
November 2022

The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity

The Smartest Person in the Room
by Christian Espinosa
December 2022

2021 Philosophy Books of the Month

The Biblical Clock: The Untold Secrets Linking the Universe and Humanity with God's Plan

The Biblical Clock
by Daniel Friedmann
March 2021

Wilderness Cry: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe

Wilderness Cry
by Dr. Hilary L Hunt M.D.
April 2021

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute
by Jeff Meyer
May 2021

Surviving the Business of Healthcare: Knowledge is Power

Surviving the Business of Healthcare
by Barbara Galutia Regis M.S. PA-C
June 2021

Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure

Winning the War on Cancer
by Sylvie Beljanski
July 2021

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream
by Dr Frank L Douglas
August 2021

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts
by Mark L. Wdowiak
September 2021

The Preppers Medical Handbook

The Preppers Medical Handbook
by Dr. William W Forgey M.D.
October 2021

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress
by Dr. Gustavo Kinrys, MD
November 2021

Dream For Peace: An Ambassador Memoir

Dream For Peace
by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah
December 2021