DE Weekly: Time, Eternalism, & Illusion
Below is an archived email originally sent on June 29, 2026.
Time, Eternalism, & Illusion
Over two millennia ago, the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle concocted a paradox called the “Paradox of Time,” found today in his Physics. In this paradox, we are asked to consider how time can really and truly exist.
Aristotle’s time paradox says that time is composed of non-existent states, the past and the future. These non-existent states are separated by a vanishing present; as soon as each moment of the present passes, it is gone to the past.
In short, the past no longer exists because it is already gone; the future is not yet in existence because it has not arrived; and, the present is simply a boundary––essentially nothing––separating the two.
Deducing an answer to this paradox, time itself appears to be a complete illusion, a non-entity.
Many philosophers have explored the idea that time, as we understand it, is simply an illusion. Not every philosopher, however, has agreed.
Friedrich Nietzsche, in the nineteenth century, defined his understanding of time through his doctrine of “Eternal Return,” proposing a view of time where every action and emotion is repeated endlessly throughout history in a sort of cycle.
Although much close to our own time, Nietzsche’s view was not indicative of the consensus view philosophically or scientifically. It was Albert Einstein in a 1955 letter stating his opinion that time was a mere illusion: “For us physicists believe the separation between past, present and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.”
Time is a tricky one. We think we understand it, but can really only do so on a human level. Even scientists propose wildly different theories; I have read a multitude of different explanations.
That said, what did the Existentialists think and write of time?
How did they see time as impacting our lives? Can we incorporate time into our search for meaning? How do we overcome its limitations?
There is a metaphysical theory of time called Eternalism which treats past, present, and future as the same: all three are equally real at all times. This means that three events at different points in time (say, your birth, today, and your death) all exist statically next to each other. The flow of time is simply an illusion of our consciousness.
Now, I want to make it clear that this is not the way many of the Existentialists viewed time. However, I believe it does help to set up the way many of them did view time.
In Existentialism, it is fair to say the majority of its most famous proponents did not view time as an illusion. Past, present, and future are not all the same; they are radically unique.
When viewing time, Existentialism asks us to ground our experience of it in our own human consciousness, that is to say, in our perceived phenomenological experience. This forces us to consider all three states of time independently.
You may begin to think about your mortality, or perhaps your freedom to do whatever you wish in this moment, or perhaps what you thought to yourself one time when you were ten years old.
Time, through an existential lens, makes up the very fabric of what it means to human––a finite being with radical freedom. Time is not an illusion because all three of the past, present, and future are palpable to us in their own way.
The past shapes us, the present requires active participation, and the future is open to be defined by our choices. All three matter.
It was Martin Heidegger in Being and Time who explained his concepts of temporality and Dasein who said, “we are constantly projecting ourselves into the future (possibilities), rooted in the past (thrownness/heritage), and acting in the present.” Further, because we are aware of our finite being (i.e., the fact we will die), we have an angst (anxiety) that compels us to act now.
Jean-Paul Sartre would echo the same sentiment by arguing the unwritten nature of the future forces us to define ourselves through projecting a future we want to have and acting in the present to create that future.
Even Søren Kierkegaard, from a theological, Christian perspective focused on the importance of the present. For Kierkegaard, the “moment” or the “instant” is born when a meaningless instant of time intersects with the eternal and we make a decisive, authentic choice rooted in faith.
So, after hearing from Aristotle, Nietzsche, Einstein, Heidegger, Sartre, and Kierkegaard, are we now clear on what time truly is? Is it real? Is it an illusion?
Maybe philosophers and scientists will figure out the definitive answer one day. Maybe, until then, we should do as the Existentialists said: take responsibility for the present and build toward the future you desire.
“The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you. It's freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don't chase the parade anymore. You're an old king from some vanished country. You're harder to program. You're not rushing to become anything and you're not haunted by things that you did. You're haunted by how little of it really mattered in the way you thought it would.” –– Bob Dylan
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Brandon J. Seltenrich
P.S.––
For the time you took to read this, thank you; that’s time you’ll never get back. Unless time is an illusion… then still, thank you.
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