2014/03/14 by Gustavo E. Romero, Romero, Gustavo E., Daniela Pérez +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · #FOS: Physical sciences #General Physics (physics.gen-ph) #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Philosophy and Theoretical Science #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1403.3655
openalex publication_date 2014/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Presentism is, roughly, the metaphysical doctrine that maintains that whatever exists, exists in the present. The compatibility of presentism with the theories of special and general relativity was much debated in recent years. It has been argued that at least some versions of presentism are consistent with time-orientable models of general relativity. In this paper we confront the thesis of presentism with relativistic physics, in the strong gravitational limit where black holes are formed. We conclude that the presentist position is at odds with the existence of black holes and other compact objects in the universe. A revision of the thesis is necessary, if it is intended to be consistent with the current scientific view of the universe.