Is There a Present or Just an Illusion of Time?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dooh
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the philosophical inquiry into the existence of the "present" and its implications on consciousness and reality. Participants argue that while experiences occur in the present, our perception of them is always delayed, suggesting that every thought is a recollection of the past. The concept of the "specious present," as described by William James, indicates that our awareness of the present is not instantaneous but rather spans a duration. Ultimately, the conversation concludes that while the present is a useful concept, it may not exist in a strictly objective sense, as physical events continue independently of human perception.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of philosophical concepts related to time and consciousness.
  • Familiarity with the term "specious present" as introduced by William James.
  • Basic knowledge of psychological theories regarding perception and memory.
  • Awareness of the distinction between objective reality and subjective experience.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the philosophical implications of the "specious present" in contemporary thought.
  • Explore the works of J. Krishnamurti on consciousness and perception.
  • Investigate E. Poppel's theories on the measurement of the present and the concept of the "timetron."
  • Examine the relationship between time perception and cognitive psychology.
USEFUL FOR

Philosophers, cognitive scientists, psychologists, and anyone interested in the nature of time and consciousness will benefit from this discussion.

  • #31
Dooh said:
There is no "present," or is there? I was writing an essay about the relevance of history the other day when this thought occurred to me. Is there really "present?" All that we see, everything that we feel and touch, could they be considered as history? For example, assuming it takes 0.1s for the brain to receive signal that you are touching a hot plate, then that instance that you felt the burn, it is already a "history" that happenbed 0.1s ago. Another one, you are thinking. But how can you tell that it is actually present? It could be just a memory of the past, one that happened less than a second ago. Every single though that we have are considered past. So does that mean that there is a past and future, but no present. Just food for thought..I will add more later.

Its not that there is "no" present, it is that there is "only" the present!

Only in the sense that it can be catagorically confirmed as the only paramiter of time that has existence?

What has "been" is the present..what will "be" is the present..and what "is" is the present?..thus there is ONLY the present.. logically?

Another mindbender to consider as an added afterthought, "imagine" if the content of the "present" did not age?..if things were constant and for example Humans did not grow and age?..clue for there to exist a PAST-tense + FUTURE- tense..then Life and elements could not evolve?..we age and evolve because the Universe(present) does not?
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
Is there a present?? It's Christmas in two days! There had better be a present, at least one, or I'm going to be VERY disappointed!
 
  • #33
Bob3141592 said:
Is there a present?? It's Christmas in two days! There had better be a present, at least one, or I'm going to be VERY disappointed!
What could be a better present than a future?
 
  • #34
Only the past exists

I think we must realize that only the past exists in our memory and senses. We are not able to grasp the present moment. Only after a small time <delta> that we know what has transpired. Our perceptions have <memory>. The memory lasts non-zero time. Thus if you bring the concept of <memory> into this discussion I think the problem gets solved.

Consider what would have happened if <memory> were not there. Then you would have got struck with the zeo length of time and all this discussion.
 
  • #35
Dooh said:
There is no "present," or is there? I was writing an essay about the relevance of history the other day when this thought occurred to me. Is there really "present?" All that we see, everything that we feel and touch, could they be considered as history? For example, assuming it takes 0.1s for the brain to receive signal that you are touching a hot plate, then that instance that you felt the burn, it is already a "history" that happenbed 0.1s ago. Another one, you are thinking. But how can you tell that it is actually present? It could be just a memory of the past, one that happened less than a second ago. Every single though that we have are considered past. So does that mean that there is a past and future, but no present. Just food for thought..I will add more later.

You have it backwards, there is ONLY the present.
 
  • #36
actually. if you study up on Planck time(10^-44). Virtually its the amount of time that it takes Light to move the Planck length(10^-35). which is the smallest. Its a very very small interval. But essentially. it is the smallest interval that any action can use.

So virtually. Nothing truly is in the real present.

Infact. The universe would exist for (10^-44)s before any forces or anything truly existed.

So if present was either side of the Planck time. it is still far before anything we are able to comprehend.

So its true that we have a latency. but its pretty damn small.


I think for arguments sake. What is needed is to define what present is. and what interval the present is.

You could virtually define the interval of the present to be 1 second. than regardless of any latency issues. you were in the present. But if you define the present as one position in time and not an interval i guess your right.
 
  • #37
I remember one lunchtime dialog with a colleague sometime back. She said, "I am trying to do some mediation which will enable me to remain thoughtless. I am tring hard but am not successful." I replied that it is theoretically impossible to experience the phase of being thoughtless. assume that it is possible for a mind to be in a state which is thoughtless. The mind to experience the state of thoughtlessness has to keep probing itself to check any thought contained by it. This very process would generate a thought like, "I am thoughtless now". Which is a thought anyway. So how do you remain thoughtless and experice it. It may only be done by an external device (like MRI scan etc) which probes brains activity and may lead to conclusion that the subject under study was thoughtless during time interval specified.
Just this way, the question of present. When you probe a thought whether it is present or past or future, it becomes a matter of past. So what we call as present is actually an arbitrarily wide slice of time from the past and from immediate future. What I may be calling as present in "At present I am a software Engineer at XYZ Inc." means that since sometime back I am working as SE at XYZ and have not decided to quit as yet. Thus the chunck of time could contain next 24 hrs of future and maybe last 24 hrs of past for the subject. when we talk about the total solar eclipse we say that the apprant size of sun and moon as seen from Earth is more or less identical (half a degree) for the present era. Here present may mean thousands of year of the past and another housand year of the future.
When I plan for next day, I have to keep happenings of the past few days in mind to shape or plan the next day. I may have to cancel my plans depending on the outcome of some of the processes which happen today.

Thus strictly speaking there is no present. The present has only been borrowed from a few momnets from the past and few moments from the future.
 
  • #38
After an exstensive search, I have concluded that the only place one can locate 'the present' is in one's own mind when one is conscious. Anyone else have a different search result?
 
  • #39
Of course! You will find the "present" at dictionaries, thesauri and 'net! Ha Ha Ha
 
  • #40
raj_vad said:
Of course! You will find the "present" at dictionaries, thesauri and 'net! Ha Ha Ha

You are right. I did find "present" where you suggested. Thanks.
 
  • #41
there is present, but everything what heppens , it heppens in no-zero time, so when you're thinking about present you'are thinking about the past, when you want to think about the present, you must thnik about the future
 
  • #42
I personally like to think of the present as our current frame of consciousness in the slow movement through a four-dimensional hyper-universe.
 

Similar threads

Discussion on the science-literature relationship and more
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K
Is Time Just an Illusion? Questioning the Beginning and End of the Universe
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
High School Unlearning the Block Universe: How Relativity Challenges Our Perception of Time
  • · Replies 90 ·
4
Replies
90
Views
10K
Undergrad Synchronizing clocks at different locations to measure speed of light
  • · Replies 58 ·
2
Replies
58
Views
5K
Time, Ontology & Platonic Reality vs Material Reality
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
7K
Graduate Question about time in QM vs. special relativity?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad Musings, seeking opinions about the nature of time
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
Does Time Really Exist, or Is It Just an Illusion?
  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
11K
The Rise of Incentivized Competitions for Humanity
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K
Can We Experience Time Beyond the Present Moment?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K