English

The nature of the present

History and Philosophy of Physics 2012-05-07 v1

Abstract

The feeling of a moving present or `now' seems to form part of our most basic perceptions about reality. Such a present, however, is not reflected in any of our theories of the physical world. In this short note I argue for a tenseless view of time, where what we call `the present' is just an emergent secondary quality arising from the interaction of perceiving self-conscious individuals with their environment. I maintain that there is no flow of time, but just an ordered system of events.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1205.0803,
  title  = {The nature of the present},
  author = {Gustavo E. Romero},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.0803},
  year   = {2012}
}

Comments

5 pages, contribution to the GRACo I meeting, to be published by Cambridge University Press

R2 v1 2026-06-21T20:58:23.319Z