Abstract

We all think we know the difference between past and future, but philosophers and scientists have never been entirely successful in putting their finger on this difference. The problem is complicated by the fact that there are at least two quite distinct ways of considering time, and that the difference between the future and the past depends on which way we adopt. These ways are two distinct views of the changes that occur in the world. Briefly, the first view sees past, present and future changes. and the second view sees changes at particular dates and times. This distinction has been the subject of numerous discussions since then. It is still not clear to us which view of time is the better: we do not really know which is the more fundamental, and even whether either of these approaches is strictly consistent in the first place.