Which of these times are real?
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@evan The tradition I follow would say that both past, present and the future exists, but only the present is real.
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@evan More options please. Imagined pasts, mistaken presents, possible futures, impossible and forbidden times... these all seem to have real effects on me
@beandreams Did you consider that the real thing having effects on you might be your present thoughts about those imaginary times, and not those times themselves? @evan
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@beandreams Did you consider that the real thing having effects on you might be your present thoughts about those imaginary times, and not those times themselves? @evan
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@beandreams That's also pretty close to my definition of "real"! I would add that real things have an effect of the world on their own, regardless if we think about them. This is also why 'imagined pasts' are not real. They do exist, but only in our imagination. Our imagination is powerful and has effects on the world. But as soon as we stop imagining that past or future, it ceases to exist. It doesn't have a reality of its own. @evan
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@beandreams That's also pretty close to my definition of "real"! I would add that real things have an effect of the world on their own, regardless if we think about them. This is also why 'imagined pasts' are not real. They do exist, but only in our imagination. Our imagination is powerful and has effects on the world. But as soon as we stop imagining that past or future, it ceases to exist. It doesn't have a reality of its own. @evan
@malte To be clear, I'm not saying you can't restrict the definition of "real" like that, and I'm not trying to conflate imaginary and physical existence or say that everything is real in the same way. I'm just saying I find it useful and delightful to define multiple ways of being real.
What is your preferred word for narratives or ideas that affect the world? E.g., race has no biological basis but it is _____.
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@malte To be clear, I'm not saying you can't restrict the definition of "real" like that, and I'm not trying to conflate imaginary and physical existence or say that everything is real in the same way. I'm just saying I find it useful and delightful to define multiple ways of being real.
What is your preferred word for narratives or ideas that affect the world? E.g., race has no biological basis but it is _____.
@beandreams I would say race is not real, but it does exist - in the imagination of racists and in public discourse etc. https://radikal.social/@malte/115405095851060226
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Thanks all. I am a fan of the growing block theory; I think past and present are real and the future is not. Thanks!
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Thanks all. I am a fan of the growing block theory; I think past and present are real and the future is not. Thanks!
@evan Does the growing block theory treat 'existing' and the 'real' as synonymous?
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@evan Does the growing block theory treat 'existing' and the 'real' as synonymous?
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@evan I read some of it and got the impression that it does. Would you agree?
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@evan I read some of it and got the impression that it does. Would you agree?
@malte I do not! I think that only the present exists. But the past is real; we can perceive evidence of past events in the present time. Even if you believe the evidence is misleading or false, it presupposes some other causation, which must precede the present.
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@malte I do not! I think that only the present exists. But the past is real; we can perceive evidence of past events in the present time. Even if you believe the evidence is misleading or false, it presupposes some other causation, which must precede the present.
@evan Interesting distinctions. I assume the present both exists and is also real, while the past doesn't exist any longer, but is still real. Is that right? I wonder what growing block calls the future then in the positive sense (assuming it doesn't exist yet and is not real either, both negative descriptions). In other traditions the future is sometimes called potentiality or virtuality.
