Introduction

The eternalist-relativistic account of the world abandons a universal present. Proponents of this view typically explain the nature of time by referring to the B-series. Treating the passage of time in a critical way is nothing new. Parmenides argued that temporal thought is contradictory. The passing of time requires that nothing, the future, becomes something, the now, and then this something, the now, becomes nothing, the past. Relationism is certainly not a novel creed. Leibniz used relational arguments in his correspondence with Newton’s representative Clarke at the beginning of the 18th century. Substantivalism is a realist theory, whereas relationism might be idealist or realist. Under substantivalism and realist relationism, we have veridical beliefs about temporal reality. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.